THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 

GIFT  OF 

Dr.  Francis  L.  Bacon 


RIVERSIDE  TEXTBOOKS 
IN  EDUCATION 

EDITED  BY  ELLWOOD  P.  CUBBERLEY 

PROFESSOR    OF    EDUCATION 
LBLAND   STANFORD   JUNIOR   UNIVERSITY 


DIVISION  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION 

UNDER  THE  EDITORIAL  DIRECTION 

OF  ALEXANDER  INGLIS 

ASSISTANT    PROFESSOR   OF   EDUCATION 
HARVARD   UNIVERSITY 


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THE  JUNIOR  HIGH 
SCHOOL 


BY 


THOMAS  H.  BRIGGS 

PROFESSOR  OF  EDUCATION,  TEACHERS  COLLEGE 
COLUMBIA   UNIVERSITY 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


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COPYRIGHT,    1920,   BY  THOMAS   H.    DRIGGS 
ALL    RIGHTS   KKSKRVXD 


<R*  Btotrttot  $rt*« 

CAMBRIDGE    •    MASSACHUSETTS 
V  •    S    •  A 


EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

EVERY  new  movement  in  education,  if  it  is  to  succeed  at  all, 
must  pass  through  two  critical  stages  of  development  before 
it  can  find  its  proper  place.  The  first  stage  is  that  in  which 
the  new  movement  struggles  for  recognition  by  educators 
and  by  the  public.  The  second  stage  is  that  in  which  ap- 
proval has  been  won,  but  actual  practice  is  incomplete,  and 
the  character  or  status  of  the  new  movement  is  still  to  be 
established.  The  success  or  failure  of  the  movement  may 
be  determined  at  either  of  these  stages. 

There  is  abundant  evidence  that  the  junior-high-school 
movement  has  passed  successfully  the  first  stage  of  its  devel- 
opment. Though  little  more  than  a  decade  has  passed  since 
its  real  beginning,  it  has  met  with  general  approval  through- 
out the  country.  The  question  now  is  not  so  much  whether 
the  junior  high  school  shall  be  recognized  as  a  part  of  our 
public-school  system,  but  what  sort  of  a  junior  high  school 
shall  be  established  and  what  sort  of  an  education  shall  be 
provided  therein.  Hundreds  of  junior  high  schools  estab- 
lished in  almost  all  parts  of  the  country  testify  to  the  fact 
that  the  new  institution  has  met  with  general  approval- 
They  also  testify,  however,  to  the  fact  that  those  responsible 
for  the  organization  of  junior  high  schools  differ  widely  in 
their  conceptions  as  to  what  such  schools  should  be. 

The  present  is  a  time  when  the  junior-high-school  move- 
ment is  in  a  very  critical  stage  of  its  development.  It  is  a 
time  when  the  form  of  reorganization  is  found  in  hundreds 


vi  EDITOR'S  INTRODUCTION 

of  school  systems,  but  the  real  reorganization  attempted  in 
but  few.  It  is  a  time  when  there  is  danger  of  numerous 
junior  high  schools  in  name,  but  few  in  fact.  It  is  a  time 
when  there  is  great  need  for  clear  orientation  and  for  the 
recognition  of  educational  standards  which  should  obtain 
in  the  new  type  of  school.  It  is  of  great  importance  that 
at  this  stage  of  its  development  a  survey  be  made  of  the 
present  status  of  the  junior  high  school,  defects  and  merits 
pointed  out,  and  a  constructive  program  suggested  for  its 
development. 

For  this  task  no  one  is  better  qualified  than  Dr.  Briggs, 
who  has  been  among  the  leaders  in  the  development  of  the 
junior  high  school  from  the  beginning,  but  whose  attitude 
toward  the  movement  has  always  been  that  of  the  scientific 
student  of  education  rather  than  that  of  the  propagandist. 
In  this  volume  he  has  presented  the  results  of  a  careful  and 
critical  analysis  of  junior  high  schools  throughout  the  coun- 
try, not  on  the  basis  of  a  priori  theory,  but  on  the  basis  of 
first-hand  investigation.  No  one  realizes  better  than  he 
that  the  junior  high  school  is  at  present  an  institution  whose 
final  character  and  status  are  still  to  be  determined.  It  is 
in  order  that  assistance  may  be  given  in  the  determination 
of  the  character  and  status  of  the  junior  high  school  that  this 
volume  has  been  written. 

ALEXANDER  INGLJS 


PREFACE 

THE  long  discussion  of  proposals  for  the  reorganization 
of  our  secondary  schools  has  now  passed  into  concrete 
action.  The  arguments  based  on  new  educational  theory, 
on  changed  and  changing  conditions  in  the  United  States, 
and  on  the  increase  in  the  number  of  pupils  who  continue 
in  school  beyond  the  elementary  grades,  have  during  the 
past  decade  been  so  fully  accepted  that  the  most  remark- 
able change  in  the  history  of  our  education  is  now  well 
under  way.  The  purpose  of  this  book  is  to  present  the 
facts,  so  far  as  they  can  be  ascertained,  concerning  the 
newly  established  junior  high  schools,  or  intermediate 
schools,  and  at  the  same  time  to  set  forth  a  constructive 
program  for  the  reorganization  if  it  is  to  be  educationally 
effective. 

The  author  has  had  the  privilege  of  visiting  personally 
more  than  sixty  junior  high  schools,  from  Massachusetts 
to  California  and  from  Minnesota  to  Texas.  The  informa- 
tion thus  obtained  has  been  supplemented  by  a  study  of 
all  available  literature  on  the  subject  of  reorganization, 
by  questionnaire  returns  from  many  schools,  and  by  con- 
ferences and  correspondence  with  administrators,  several 
hundred  of  whom  have  been  students  in  his  classes.  In  addi- 
tion, during  the  past  five  years  he  has  had  the  practical  ex- 
perience afforded  him  as  educational  adviser  of  the  Speyer 
Experimental  Junior  High  School,  which  is  conducted 
jointly  by  the  City  of  New  York  and  Teachers  College. 


via  PREFACE 

Acknowledgment  is  due  and  is  gratefully  made  to  the 
many  people  who  have  aided  in  this  study,  especially  to 
those  principals  and  superintendents  who  have  courte- 
ously shown  their  schools,  cheerfully  submitted  to  cross- 
examination,  patiently  filled  out  a  lengthy  questionnaire, 
and  generously  answered  letters  of  inquiry.  It  will  not  seem 
invidious  to  thank  especially  Principal  Joseph  K.  Van 
Denburg  and  the  teachers  of  the  Speyer  School  for  their 
cordial  and  constant  cooperation  and  helpfulness. 

T.  H.  B. 

Teachert  College 
Columbia  Univertity 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  I.  THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS   .  1 

A.  Criticisms  of  Public  Schools  as  organized      ....  1 

B.  Elementary,  Intermediate,  and  High-School  Education  de- 

fined    20 

CHAPTER  II.  THE    DEVELOPMENT    OF    THE    JUNIOR    HIGH 

SCHOOL 29 

A.  Historical  Sketch 29 

B.  Major  Types  of  Conception 85 

C.  Definitions 46 

D.  Extent  of  the  Junior  High  School  Movement      ...  56 

CHAPTER  III.  CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS 65 

A.  Claims  for  the  Junior  High  School 65 

B.  Objections  to  the  Junior  High  School 72 

^CHAPTER  IV.  ORGANIZATION 93 

A.  Distribution  of  Grades  and  Affiliations  .....  93 

B.  Relation  to  Elementary  Schools,  r  eluding  Admission        .  97 

C.  Relation  to  the  Senior  High  School 113 

CHAPTER  V.  SPECIAL    FUNCTIONS    OF    THE    JUNIOR    HIGH 

SCHOOL 127 

A.  Departmental  Teaching 127 

B.  Individual  Differences .        .133 

C.  Promotions 152 

CHAPTER  VI.  CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY    .      .      .155 

CHAPTER  VII.  METHODS  OF  TEACHING 200 

A.  Supervised  Study 203 

B.  Home  Study 206 

C.  Project  Teaching  and  Socialized  Recitation  ....  207 

D.  Textbooks 208 


x  CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  VIII.  TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES 210 

CHAPTER  EX.  THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SCHEDULE  AND 

OF  CLASS  UNITS 238 

A.  Length  of  Period,  of  Day,  and  of  Week        ....  238 

B.  Size  of  Classes 242 

CHAPTER  X.  SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL    .      .      .  245 

CHAPTER  XI.  BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS 270 

CHAPTER  XII.  COSTS 279 

CHAPTER  XIII.  RESULTS 303 

CHAPTER  XIV.  IN  CONCLUSION 322 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 329 

INDEX  ...  ....  .  349 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

CHAPTER  I 

THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS 

A.  CRITICISMS  OF  PUBLIC  SCHOOLS  AS  ORGANIZED 
UNLIKE  any  other  country,  the  United  States  has  for  all 
children  a  single  system  of  public  schools,  free  and  gener- 
ally accessible.  In  the  larger  part  of  the  country  elemen- 
tary education  continues  for  eight  years,  though  in  the 
South  it  has  only  seven  grades  and  in  parts  of  New  England 
it  still  has  nine.  On  these  several  bases  there  have  been 
superposed  four-year  secondary  schools  remarkably  alike  in 
organization  and  curriculum,  whatever  the  previous  prepa- 
ration or  the  future  needs  of  the  pupils.  There  are  many  high 
schools  with  shorter  courses,  but  as  a  rule  they  offer  one, 
two,  or  three  years  of  the  regular  program  of  studies;  and 
during  the  past  decade  or  two  a  few  communities  have  ex- 
tended their  offerings  so  as  to  include  two  years  of  college 
work. 

The  causes  of  the  "  eight-four "  organization,  toward 
which  the  country  has  been  tending,  are  not  clear,  the  his- 
tories of  education  being  for  the  most  part  silent  on  the 
topic.  Astounding  though  it  may  be,  the  usual  distribu- 
tion of  time  to  elementary  and  to  secondary  education  is 
not  the  result  of  careful  definition  of  the  functions  of  the  two 
types  of  schools  based  on  the  needs  in  a  new  democracy. 
Whatever  may  have  been  the  influences  on  administrators 


2  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

here  and  there,  the  assignment  of  time  to  elementary  and 
to  secondary  education  is  the  result  of  a  fortuitous  com- 
promise between  two  unfortunately  contending  organiza- 
tions which  were  inherited  from  Europe.  Moreover,  one 
searches  in  vain  the  current  literature  for  any  generally 
accepted  and  useful  definition  of  elementary  and  secondary 
education  in  America  to-day  or  for  a  similarly  approved 
statement  of  their  purposes. 

The  similarity  of  practice  in  elementary  schools  the  coun- 
try over  would  argue  that  there  is  at  least  a  tacit  agreement 
as  to  purposes  and  functions,  but  research  shows  that  usually 
such  changes  as  have  been  made  are  for  some  reason  insti- 
tuted hi  certain  schools  and  then  widely  copied  without 
being  attributed  to  definitely  stated  and  generally  approved 
fundamental  principles.  The  betterment  of  practice  has, 
however,  been  proceeding  steadily,  and  as  the  purposes  of 
common  education  are  relatively  simple,  still  further  prog- 
ress may  be  confidently  expected  from  individual  experi- 
mentation and  subsequent  imitation  by  those  who  approve 
of  the  results. 

In  secondary  education  the  problem  is  much  more  com- 
plex; and  despite  the  general  similarity  of  traditional  offer- 
ings, there  are  in  many  sporadic  instances  wide  divergences 
from  the  common  practice  —  divergences  due,  however, 
more  to  the  sympathies  and  vision  of  individual  school- 
men than  to  convincing  principles  clearly  presented.  It  is 
safe  to  say  that  such  basic  principles  as  have  been  proposed 
are  not  yet  assimilated  by  those  chiefly  responsible  for  di- 
recting secondary  schools.  A  beautiful,  even  if  somewhat 
blind,  belief  in  "  education  "  has  resulted  during  the  past 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    3 

quarter-century  in  a  tremendous  increase  in  the  number  of 
public  high  schools  from  Maine  to  California;  but  with  the 
changes  that  have  come  in  our  social  and  industrial  life  and 
with  the  unparalleled  increase  in  the  number  and  kinds  of 
children  continuing  and  able  to  continue  beyond  the  ele- 
mentary grades,  the  high  schools  face  the  necessity  of  even 
more  highly  differentiated  curricula  than  they  now  offer. 
This  recognized  need,  with  its  necessary  increase  in  the  an- 
nual budget,  demands  as  never  before  an  educational  pro- 
gram that  will  direct  the  expansion  toward  the  desired  goal. 

In  addition  to  the  indefiniteness  of  function  and  of  pur- 
pose, the  public  high  school  has  developed  apart  from  the 
elementary  grades  and  often  in  ignorance  of  their  practices 
and  achievements.  Although  demanding  the  completion  of 
the  grades  as  a  condition  of  entrance,  the  high  school  has 
infrequently  built  its  program  on  that  of  the  elementary 
school. 

Due  largely  to  these  conditions,  with  the  increased  popu- 
lar interest  in  schools  and  with  the  earnest,  systematic 
study  of  education,  there  has  come  a  flood  of  criticisms  of 
our  organization.  A  part  of  these  criticisms  has  come  from 
the  public  as  it  has  been  unable  to  keep  in  the  high  schools 
its  children,  who  have  neither  succeeded  nor  been  satisfied 
with  the  traditional  offerings,  and  as  it  has  felt  disappoint- 
ment with  the  product  of  the  four-year  curriculum.  A  more 
constructive  part  has  come  from  the  steadily  increasing 
number  of  professional  men  and  women  who,  alarmed  no 
less  by  the  inelastic  curriculum  than  by  the  elimination 
from  school,  have  sought  to  find  causes  and  remedies.  In 
order  that  they  may  be  conveniently  examined  and  con- 


4  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

sidered,  the  arguments  against  our  eight-four  school  organi- 
zation have  been  collated  and  are  presented  in  the  remainder 
of  this  chapter.  It  is  impossible  to  give  here  the  complete 
argument  for  and  against  the  validity  of  each  criticism,  but 
a  running  commentary  will  indicate  at  least  some  of  the 
evidence  and  assumptions  that  must  be  considered  before 
a  conclusion  can  be  reached. 

Criticism  I.  The  eight-four  organization  is  not  justified 
by  (a)  psychology,  (6)  comparative  education,  (c)  historical 
development,  or  (d~)  results. 

The  first  of  these  detailed  criticisms  is  partly  based  on  the 
assumption  that  adolescence  is  saltatory,  that  all  children 
reach  it  at  approximately  the  same  time,  and  that  it  brings 
generally  characteristics  that  necessitate  peculiar  treat- 
ment, preferably  with  the  group  of  adolescents  segregated. 
The  monumental  work  of  G.  Stanley  Hall,  more  frequently 
cited  than  carefully  read,  is  most  responsible  for  these 
assumptions.  It  has  been  convincingly  shown  by  Inglis,1 
however,  that  adolescence  comes  gradually,  and  by  Cramp- 
ton  and  others  that  it  may  begin  as  early  as  the  ninth  year 
or  as  late  as  the  sixteenth.  This  evidence  does  not  invali- 
date the  charge;  but  it  helps  to  focus  the  attention  on  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  boys  and  girls  generally  of  from 
twelve  to  sixteen  and  to  ask  what  differences  in  school  prac- 
tice, if  any,  should  be  introduced  because  of  them.  The 
excellent  summary  by  Whipple  2  presents  the  facts  in  tin, 
case.  There  is  by  practically  every  experienced  teacher 
some  adaptation  of  work  to  the  characteristics  of  pupils; 

1  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  chaps.  I,  n. 

*  Chapter  vii  of  Monroe's  Principles  of  Secondary  Education. 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    5 

but  so  far  as  is  known,  there  has  been  no  systematic  at- 
tempt, in  junior  high  school  or  in  the  older  organizations, 
to  adapt  subject-matter,  method,  and  discipline  consistently 
to  meet  any  large  number  of  the  peculiarities  enumerated. 
Some  such  attempt,  however,  should  be  made.  The  assump- 
tion that  pupils  in  early  adolescence  should  be  segregated 
both  from  the  younger  and  from  the  older  children  is  ac- 
cepted by  many,  their  arguments  being  that  the  early  adoles- 
cents need  an  education,  especially  in  social  control,  essen- 
tially different  from  that  successful  with  others,  and  that 
while  unwisely  imitating  the  older  pupils,  they  are  a  bad  in- 
fluence on  the  younger  ones.  It  is  in  varying  degrees  denied 
by  other  schoolmen.  As  will  be  shown  later,  however,1  the 
testimony  of  junior-high-school  principals  and  teachers  is 
that  discipline  is  generally  easier  when  the  intermediate 
grades  are  segregated. 

The  criticism  concerning  comparative  education  must  be 
accepted.  The  United  States  is  the  only  country  in  the 
world  that  has  the  eight-four  organization.  It  does  not 
follow,  however,  that  it  is  bad  for  our  Republic  with  its  pe- 
culiar democratic  ideals  and  economic  conditions.  Whether 
or  not  one  condemns  the  common  American  organization 
because  of  the  different  plans  of  other  civilized  countries 
will  depend  largely  on  his  acceptance  of  one  or  the  other  of 
the  fundamental  programs  presented  in  a  later  chapter.2 
Inasmuch  as  nations  are  alike  in  more  respects  than  they  are 
different,  it  is  probable,  however,  that  there  is  much  that  we 
can  profitably  learn  from  European  educational  systems. 

The  third  detail  in  this  criticism,  that  the  eight-four 
1  Page  246-48.  2  Chapter  n. 


6  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

organization  is  not  justified  by  historical  development,  is, 
because  of  our  ignorance  of  the  potency  of  several  influences 
on  the  development  of  our  school  system,  difficult  to  consider. 
It  has  been  argued  that  our  eight-year  elementary  school 
has  developed  from  Prussian  influence,  which  provides  for 
the  children  of  the  lowly  a  restricted  education  terminating 
about  the  time  of  confirmation  by  the  several  religious  sects, 
and  that  on  this  foreign  type  of  school  we  have  superim- 
posed a  secondary  school  for  those  who  may  elect  it.  This 
argument  is  flatly  contradicted,  however,  by  the  most  fully 
informed  of  our  historians  of  education.  It  seems  more 
likely  that  the  eight-four  organization  is  partly  an  histori- 
cal accident,  a  sort  of  compromise  between  the  early  con- 
tending elementary  and  secondary  schools.  The  former, 
as  is  well  known,  existed  with  any  number  of  "  grades  "  up 
to  twelve,  and  the  latter,  as  in  Europe,  often  ran  down  in 
preparatory  work  as  low  as  primary  classes.  Gradually,  as 
the  two  types  were  combined,  there  resulted  what  we  now 
have.  Certainly  there  is  no  evidence  that  at  any  time  be- 
fore the  present  there  has  been  any  widespread  effort  to 
consider  the  needs  of  children  and  the  demands  of  the  nation 
in  such  a  way  as  logically  or  scientifically  to  determine  the 
length  of  either  the  elementary  or  the  secondary  school 
course.  Hence  the  problem  on  this  count  is  not  prejudged 
by  existing  conditions.  The  junior  high  school  must  de- 
velop or  be  discarded  for  other  reasons  than  those  historical. 
The  last  of  the  four  details  hi  this  criticism,  that  the  eight- 
four  organization  is  not  justified  by  results,  is  not  sufficiently 
specific  to  be  adjudged.  All  that  its  proponents  mean  is 
probably  included  in  the  following  charges.  Although  such 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    7 

an  indefinite  detail  often  finds  sympathetic  reception  in  the 
general  dissatisfaction  of  the  human  mind  with  anything 
less  than  the  ideal,  it  does  not  afford  material  assistance  to 
those  who  would  analyze  the  problem  and  attempt  to  solve  it. 
Criticism  n.  Isolated  and  small  grammar  schools  are  un- 
economical in  that 

(a)  the  plant,  if  equipped  with  special  rooms  (shops, 
laboratories,  auditorium,  gymnasium,  and  library), 
is  not  fully  used; 

(6)  special  teachers  and  supervisors  in  going  from  build- 
ing to  building  lose  much  time; 

(c)  upper  classes  are  frequently  not  filled; 

(d)  they  do  not  permit  of  differentiated  curricula,  depart- 
mental teaching,  and  promotion  by  subject. 

All  of  these  details  are  soundly  based.  Only  in  the  larger 
elementary  schools  is  it  possible  to  erect  and  equip  a  build- 
ing with  the  special  rooms  generally  admitted  as  desirable 
in  the  education  of  pupils  in  the  upper  grades;  and  even  in 
an  eight-year  school  of  twelve  hundred  registration,  there 
will  be  approximately  only  eighty-one  pupils  in  the  seventh 
grade  and  seventy-seven  in  the  eighth,  obviously  too  few 
to  use  the  shops,  laboratories,  and  other  special  rooms 
continuously. 

Special  teachers  and  supervisors  of  industrial  work  —  mu- 
sic, drawing,  physical  training,  and  the  like  —  can  fre- 
quently do  all  the  work  assigned  for  an  individual  building 
in  part  of  a  session.  The  time  required  for  travel  to  another 
building  in  a  different,  and  sometimes  a  remote,  part  of  the 
city  is  a  dead  loss.  Such  a  condition  in  Cleveland  was  one 
of  the  cogent  reasons  for  the  establishment  of  junior  high 


8  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

schools  there.  When  a  sufficient  number  of  similarly  graded 
pupils  are  congregated  in  one  building,  these  special  teach- 
ers can  be  occupied  there  for  the  entire  time,  or  at  least  for 
one  or  more  entire  days  a  week. 

When  for  purposes  of  economy  or  of  educational  advan- 
tage it  is  decided  to  have  classes  of  approximately  a  cer- 
tain size  —  say  thirty-eight  —  a  superintendent  is  dis- 
turbed by  the  problem  of  groups  of  twelve  or  of  fifty  in  an 
upper  grade.  If  he  cannot  conveniently  transfer  some  of 
these  pupils  to  another  school,  he  faces  the  alternative  of 
an  increased  per  capita  cost  or  of  an  educationally  undesir- 
able number  in  one  class.  In  Waterloo,  Iowa,  for  example, 
the  seventh-  and  eighth-grade  pupils  in  1917-18  were  dis- 
tributed among  six  buildings  as  follows: 

Building  VII  VIII 

A  73  95 

B  26 

C  49  69 

D  11 

E  18 

F  56  42 

A  study  of  this  distribution  will  show  how  awkward  the 
situation  is;  of  course  material  differentiation  in  any  one 
school  is  out  of  the  question.  Were  these  pupils  congregated 
into  one  building,  there  would  be  233  in  the  seventh  grade 
and  206  in  the  eighth  —  numbers  that  may  be  divided 
fairly  evenly  into  five  or  six  classes  of  normal  size.  Each 
of  these  five  or  six  classes,  in  turn,  could  be  directed  toward 
such  work  as  meets  the  needs  or  abilities  of  its  children.  By 
sending  all  of  these  pupils  to  a  central  junior  high  school, 
the  superintendent  would  have  a  total  number  which, 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS     9 

whether  differentiated  courses  were  offered  or  not,  could  be 
divided  by  the  normal  class  size  with  a  minimum  of  varia- 
tion. It  follows  as  a  matter  of  course  that  only  in  schools 
of  considerable  size  can  differentiated  curricula  be  offered. 
The  best  that  can  be  done  in  small  schools  is  the  offering  of 
an  exploratory  curriculum  worth  while  for  all  pupils  to  the 
extent  that  it  is  pursued,  or  else  a  specialized  curriculum 
suited  to  the  majority  of  pupils  and  directed  by  local  needs. 

Similarly  it  follows  that  departmental  teaching  and 
promotion  by  subject  are  practicable  only  in  schools  of 
considerable  size.  These  facts  being  true,  the  validity  of 
this  second  criticism  depends,  of  course,  on  the  desirability 
of  differentiation,  departmental  teaching,  and  promotion  by 
subject  —  topics  that  will  be  discussed  somewhat  fully 
later. 

Criticism  HI.  The  costly  building  and  equipment  of  the 
high  school  are  unnecessary  for  the  adequate  training  of 
ninth-grade  pupils. 

This  depends  on  the  course  necessary  for  the  satisfactory 
education  of  the  ninth-grade  pupil  and  on  the  relative 
equipment  and  cost  of  the  junior-  and  the  senior-  high-school 
buildings.  In  Philadelphia,  according  to  Assistant  Super- 
intendent Wheeler,1  the  newest  high-school  buildings  cost 
in  1917  $520  per  pupil,  the  newest  elementary-school  build- 
ings, containing  all  equipment  used  in  the  present  ninth- 
grade  work,  $320.  There  are  abundant  other  data  sup- 
porting this  point. 

Criticism  IV.  The  work  of  the  elementary  school  does 
not  prepare  for  We  activities. 

1  Old  Penn  Weekly,  13,  1007. 


10  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

(a)  There  is  an  indefensible  justification  of  subject- 
matter  by  ideas  of  general  transfer  and  of  discipline. 

The  discussion  of  general  transfer  of  training  is  apparently 
not  ended,  but  from  it  has  come  a  general  disbelief  in  the  old 
faith  that  power  developed  in  one  field  automatically  and 
inevitably  is  exercised  in  all  other  fields,  a  faith  that  underlay 
almost  the  entire  procedure  of  the  schools  before  this  cen- 
tury. In  spite  of  the  admirable  work  done  by  many  school 
systems,  by  writers  of  textbooks,  and  especially  by  the 
Committee  on  Minimum  Essentials  of  the  National  Society 
for  the  Study  of  Education, l  there  are  in  our  courses  of  study 
many  relics  of  the  discredited  psychology.  The  faith  that 
"  discipline  "  of  the  mind  or  of  the  spirit  is  secured  by  work 
that  is  distasteful  also  finds  few  defenders  to-day.  Prag- 
matic belief  in  it  is  disproved  by  the  fact  that  scarcely  any 
one  seeks  for  himself  mental  and  spiritual  growth  by  con- 
tinuing in  adult  life  tasks  that  are  justified  only  by  their  re- 
pugnance. And  yet  many  elements  of  courses  apparently 
introduced  for  this  purpose  also  still  persist.  To  this  ex- 
tent, then,  the  criticism  may  be  accepted.  It  is  another 
matter  whether  or  not  a  new  school  organization  will  en- 
tirely or  even  to  a  greater  degree  discard  these  foundations 
of  practice.  It  is  generally  admitted,  however,  that  the  older 
organization  is  not  making  as  rapidly  as  is  desirable  curricu- 
lum changes  consonant  with  principles  that  are  now  accepted. 

(6)  There  is  endless  repetition  of  what  has  been  offered 
before  and  will  be  again,  and  there  are  wearisome, 
wasteful,  and  futile  reviews. 

1  See  Part  i  of  the  Fifteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seventeenth  Year-Books  of 
The  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education. 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS     11 

This  charge  has  been  repeatedly  made,  but  a  search  re- 
veals little  supporting  evidence  that  has  been  adduced. 
Hill  1  declares,  after  examining  169  courses  of  study  of  rep- 
resentative schools,  that  about  40  per  cent  of  the  work 
outlined  for  the  seventh  and  eight  grades  is  review.  He 
concludes:  "  Some  review  work  is  necessary,  but  to  argue 
that  this  amount  ...  is  needed  in  these  grades  is  a  sad 
commentary  on  the  work  of  the  lower  grades.  It  deprives 
them  of  their  purpose  and  discredits  the  ability  of  the  pupils 
and  their  teachers."  But  inasmuch  as  the  charge  overlooks 
the  values  claimed  for  a  "  special  method  "  of  presentation, 
certainly  judgment  must  be  suspended.  Much  more  evi- 
dence on  the  subject  is  needed.  It  should  be  noted  that 
the  statement  of  this  charge  begs  the  question:  every  one 
will  agree  that  endless  repetition  and  futile  reviews  are  un- 
necessary. 

(c)  There  is  too  much  symbolic  work  and  too  little  of 
substantial  activity. 

The  first  part  of  this  criticism  of  the  elementary  school  is 
supported  by  numerous  studies  of  such  subjects  as  gram- 
mar, arithmetic,  history,  and  geography,  and  by  practically 
all  progressive  courses  of  study  and  new  textbooks;  the 
second  part  is  generally  approved  by  educational  theorists 
and  by  the  tendencies  of  schools  that  are  making  any  marked 
changes  from  old  practices.  Substantial  activities  of  va- 
rious kinds  are  to  varying  degrees  secured  in  most  con- 
temporary grammar  grades,  and  the  amount  of  symbolic 
work  is  reduced  and  deferred  to  the  high  school  or  college. 

1  Bulletin  of  the  Springfield,  Missouri,  State  Normal  School,  October, 
1915. 


12  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

The  acquiring  of  tools  of  education  is,  in  theory  at  least, 
merged  in  education  itself.  To  the  extent  that  the  indict- 
ment is  true  of  schools  of  to-day  it  should  stimulate  ac- 
tivity toward  some  sort  of  reform. 

Criticism  V.  The  work  of  the  elementary  school  does  not 
satisfactorily  prepare  for  higher  schools. 

This  criticism  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  much,  prob- 
ably most,  of  the  work  in  the  upper  grades  of  the  elementary 
schools  bears  no  relation  in  the  minds  of  either  teachers  or 
pupils  to  the  subjects  normally  undertaken  in  the  ninth  year. 
The  sharp  difference  is  greatest  in  subject-matter,  but  it  is 
apparent  also  in  methods  of  teaching  and  of  study,  in  disci- 
pline, and  in  the  personal  relations  between  teachers  and 
pupils.  In  these  latter  respects  there  is,  of  course,  much 
variation  in  the  practice  of  schools;  the  sharpest  difference  is 
usually  in  the  largest  high  schools  where  the  work  is  most 
fully  departmentalized.  The  result  of  these  differences  is 
manifest,  it  is  charged,  in  the  increased  percentage  of  fail- 
ures and  eliminations  from  school  during  and  at  the  end  of 
the  ninth  grade.  The  figures  are  startling  enough. 

The  question  naturally  arises  as  to  the  extent  to  which 
these  deplorable  results  are  inevitable  in  the  eight-four  or- 
ganization. Can  they  be  prevented  in  it,  or  in  any  other 
distribution  of  grades,  by  better  administration?  On  this 
point  there  exist  no  adequate  data.  There  are  systems  of 
schools  in  which  separate  four-year  high  schools  retain  a 
normal  proportion  of  their  entrants  at  least  into  the  second 
year  of  their  course;  but  observation  has  led  to  the  conclu- 
sion that  this  desired  result  is  usually  due  more  to  the  tra- 
ditions and  wealth  of  the  community  than  to  any  fully  de- 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS     13 

veloped  administrative  plan.  There  is  need  of  a  widespread 
and  careful  study  of  the  means  by  which  these  occasional 
high  schools  are  successful.  In  the  meantime  each  super- 
intendent should  frankly  face  the  question  as  to  what  kind 
and  amount  of  modification  of  the  content  of  courses,  of  the 
methods  of  instruction,  and  of  the  program  for  personal 
control  of  pupils  is  desired  in  both  the  grammar  grades  and 
in  the  high  schools.  It  is  a  lamentable  condition,  and  one 
easily  remedied  if  a  superintendent  sets  himself  to  the  task, 
that  many  principals  and  teachers  are  to  a  very  small  extent 
informed  of  the  work  and  of  the  definite  aims  of  the  proxi- 
mate grades,  either  above  or  below. 

Certainly  the  percentage  of  failure  and  of  elimination 
during  and  at  the  end  of  the  first  year  of  high  school  is 
greater  than  anywhere  else  in  the  system.  Secondary- 
school  teachers  attribute  this  to  inadequate  preparation  of 
the  pupils  for  their  work  by  the  elementary  school.  So  far 
as  conditions  leading  to  these  results  are  irremediable  in 
the  present  organization,  they  point  to  a  continuous  one- 
twelve  school  or  to  the  interposition  of  a  junior  high 
school  that  will  be  definitely  an  intermediary  between  the 
unified  work  of  the  elementary  grades  and  the  increasingly 
differentiated  courses  of  secondary  education. 

Criticism  VI.  The  progress  of  pupils  in  the  grammar 
grades  is  not  marked  as  in  other  periods  in  school  life. 

This  charge  may  be  true,  but  under  present  conditions  it 
is  impossible  to  substantiate  it.  It  may  be  shown  that  pupils 
in  many  schools  do  not  as  measured  by  standarized  tests 
manifest  as  much  improvement  in  spelling,  penmanship,  and 
other  such  subjects  in  the  grammar  grades  as  they  do  ear- 


14  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

lier;  neither  do  men  increase  in  height  as  much  at  the  age 
of  twenty-five  as  they  did  in  one  year  of  early  adolescence. 
//  it  be  assumed  that  there  should  be  throughout  the  school 
system  the  same  rate  of  progress  hi  subjects  that  are  con- 
tinued, the  change  may  be  proved;  but  there  is  no  method, 
except  the  highly  unreliable  one  of  using  personal  impression, 
by  which  one  may  compare  the  progress  in  introductory 
science  with  that  in  primary  reading  or  even  with  that  in  ad- 
vanced chemistry.  Until  such  a  method  is  found,  if  ever  it 
be,  the  satisfactoriness  of  progress  must  be  evaluated  by 
one  or  more  competent  judges  in  terms  of  the  purposes  de- 
finitely accepted  for  the  unit  considered.  It  seems,  there- 
fore, that  this  criticism  may  be  laid  aside  without  further 
consideration. 

Criticism  VTT.  In  early  adolescence  pupils  do  not  get  the 
needed  influence  of  teachers  of  both  sexes. 

Reports  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Educa- 
tion show  that  there  is  a  constantly  decreasing  proportion 
of  upper-grade  teachers  who  are  men.  In  1879-80  of  all 
teachers  in  elementary  schools  42.8  were  men;  since  then 
the  percentage  has  steadily  fallen  until  in  1917—18  it  was 
only  13.4,  and  without  doubt  it  is  still  decreasing.  In 
public  high  schools  the  percentage  of  men  teachers  rose 
from  40.0  in  1889-90,  the  first  year  for  which  data  are 
procurable,1  to  49.9  in  1899-1900,  since  when  it  has  fallen 
as  shown  hi  Figure  1.  The  decrease  is  generally  consid- 
ered as  due  to  the  fact  that  men  can  make  more  money  at 
other  kinds  of  work,  and  that  elementary  teaching  is  wo- 

1  All  data  are  taken  from  the  Reports  of  the  United  States  Commis- 
sioner of  Education. 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS     15 


1880 


1890 


1910 


1920 


40 


30 


20 


men's  work.  In  the  criticism  there  is  no  implication  that 
men  are  better  teachers  than  women;  the  assumption  is  that 
there  is  a  need  for  the  ex- 
ample and  influence  of  both 
men  and  women  on  boys 
and  girls  who  are  tend- 
ing to  set  their  ideals  and 
attitudes  toward  many  mat- 
ters of  life.  Exactly  what 
the  value  expected  is,  no 
one  knows ;  and  our  knowl- 
edge of  the  psychology  of 
sex  is  too  limited  to  permit 
of  any  confident  answer.  It 
is  probable  that  the  quali- 
ties desired  in  a  teacher 
are  much  more  charac- 
teristic of  an  individual  than  of  a  sex.  This  does  not  dis- 
prove, however,  the  generally  accepted  desirability  of  hav- 
ing both  men  and  women  teachers  of  high  quality  for  pupils 
of  early  adolescence.  Later  it  will  be  shown  that  in  junior 
high  schools  the  proportion  of  men  teachers  is  somewhat 
increased  over  that  in  the  same  grades  of  the  old  organ- 
ization. 

Criticism  VTII.  Elementary  or  childish  methods  of  teach- 
ing are  too  long  continued  and  too  suddenly  changed. 

There  seems  to  be  a  tendency  of  all  teachers  who  are 
interested  in  their  pupils  to  adapt  the  method  of  instruction 
directly  to  the  particular  group  of  boys  and  girls  constitut- 
ing a  class.  This  tendency  being  strong  among  teachers 


o 

FIGURE  1.  SHOWING  PER  CENTS  OP 
MEN  TEACHERS  IN  ELEMENTARY 
SCHOOLS  AND  IN  HIGH  SCHOOLS  1880 
TO  1919. 


16  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

not  wholly  absorbed  in  self  or  in  subject-matter,  it  prob- 
ably follows  that  the  criticism  is  based  quite  as  much  on  the 
frequent  observation  of  teaching  that  is  not  adapted  to  the 
needs  of  all  the  pupils  in  a  poorly  graded  class  as  on  the  in- 
fluence of  younger'pupils  on  the  teacher.  However,  in  a  de- 
partmental organization  the  influence  of  younger  or  of  older 
pupils  may  be  strong  on  a  teacher  as  he  moves  from  one 
group  to  another,  and  it  is  only  trite  to  say  that  adults 
manifest  a  peculiar  unwillingness  to  recognize  and  provide 
for  the  strengthening  demand  on  the  part  of  adolescents 
for  self-direction.  The  charge  of  an  abrupt  change  of 
method  in  the  high  school  is  generally  admitted  as  being 
true  for  a  significant  proportion  of  the  teachers.  There 
can  scarcely  be  any  dissent  from  the  implication  that 
changes  in  method  should  be  gradual.  There  exist  only 
inadequate  evidence  and  personal  opinion  to  indicate  to 
what  extent  the  admitted  facts  are  harmful. 

Criticism  IX.  The  eight-four  organization  makes  inade- 
quate provision  for  the  varying  needs  of  pupils  due  to  in- 
dividual differences 

(a)  of  ability  and  aptitude; 

(6)  of  sex; 

(c)  of  probable  career: 

(1)  educational; 

(2)  vocational. 

To  substantiate  this  charge,  its  proponents  must  make 
clear  that  there  are  in  pupils  significant  differences  in  the 
various  respects,  and  that  these  differences  demand  for  the 
pupils'  best  development  differentiated  educational  pro- 
grams. To  find  convincing  evidence  of  surprising  and  in 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS     17 

some  cases  even  astounding  ranges  of  ability  in  groups  usu- 
ally considered  homogeneous,  one  has  only  to  refer  to  any  of 
numerous  recent  studies  in  the  field.1  It  is  easy  for  the  pro- 
ponents to  show  these  facts;  it  is  difficult  for  them  to  sup- 
port so  as  to  convert  their  opponents  the  assumption  that 
these  differences  necessitate  in  grammar  grades  differen- 
tiated work.  If  the  assumption  is  admitted,  as  it  probably 
must  be,  the  criticism  is  upheld,  for,  as  is  shown  else- 
where, even  the  beginning  of  differentiation  is  impossible 
in  the  usual  elementary  school. 

Mutatis  mutandis,  a  similar  situation  exists  regarding  the 
other  two  details  of  the  criticism.  There  is  some  denial  of 
the  statement  that  in  early  adolescence  boys  and  girls  ad- 
vance more  satisfactorily  if  segregated  in  certain  subjects; 
but  on  the  whole  the  evidence  tends  to  prove  it.  More  and 
better  experimentation  is  needed  before  a  conclusion  can 
be  confidently  accepted.  In  the  other  case,  it  is  denied  that 
the  school  can,  when  a  pupil  is  twelve  or  fourteen,  tell  what 
sort  of  vocation  he  will  follow;  and  that,  even  if  it  can,  dif- 
ferentiated work  should  be  offered  before  the  senior  high 
school.  Opinion  on  this  detail  will  be  controlled  by  the  edu- 
cational ideal  accepted  for  the  junior  high  school.2  Those 
who  believe  in  early  differentiation  contend  that  although 
mistakes  will  inevitably  be  made  by  pupils  in  the  election 
of  curricula,  they  may  later  be  rectified,  and  that  the  mis- 
takes are  far  outnumbered  by  the  successes.  Much  more 
evidence  than  has  been  published  is  needed. 

1  For  a  succinct  and  sound  summary  of  some  facts  about  individual  dif- 
ferences, see  Thorndike's  Individuality. 

2  See  chapter  n  and  Briggs:  "What  Is  a  Junior  High  School?"  Educa- 
tional Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  5,  pp.  283-302. 


18  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Criticism  X.  The  eight-four  organization  causes  an  un- 
necessary and  unjustifiable  elimination,  because 

(a)  the  break  between  the  lower  and  the  upper  schools 
is  too  sharp;  and 

(6)  it  comes  at  the  wrong  time. 

The  amount  of  elimination  from  all  our  schools  between 
the  end  of  the  sixth  grade  and  the  beginning  of  the  tenth  is, 
roughly  speaking,  about  seventy  pupils  of  every  hundred. 
The  losses  during  and  at  the  end  of  grades  7,  8,  and  9  have 
been  the  greatest,  partly  because  pupils  in  these  grades  usu- 
ally complete  the  age  of  compulsory  attendance  at  school, 
and  partly,  it  is  charged,  because  of  the  poor  articulation 
between  the  elementary  and  the  secondary  schools.  The 
break  between  the  two  parts  of  the  system  is  emphasized 
by  a  marked  change  in  the  subjects  of  study,  the  organiza- 
tion, the  methods  of  teaching,  the  discipline,  and  frequently 
the  atmosphere  of  the  school.  A  pupil  who  has  "  finished  " 
arithmetic,  grammar,  and  the  other  elementary  subjects, 
under  perhaps  a  single  teacher  keeping  a  close  watch  over 
him  as  an  individual,  may,  it  is  charged,  be  so  reluctant  to 
enter  a  distant  and  strange  building,  undertake  new  and 
strange  subjects,  under  several  strange  teachers,  that  he 
finds  an  easy  excuse  for  dropping  out.  The  "completion  " 
of  elementary  education  is  often  emphasized,  too,  by  gradua- 
tion exercises.  Thus  it  is  seen  that  there  is  no  uncertainty  of 
the  sharpness  of  the  break.  More  than  this,  it  does  come 
usually  about  the  time  when  the  law  releases  pupils  from 
compulsory  school  attendance;  so  that  having  completed  one 
unit  of  work  and  not  being  compelled  to  undertake  another, 
the  pupil  of  uncertain  purpose  and  ambition  finds  it  easy  to 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    19 

drop  out  of  school.  There  is  considerable  evidence  show- 
ing that  if  a  pupil  before  being  released  by  the  law  has  en- 
tered upon  secondary-school  work,  he  tends  to  persist  some- 
what longer  than  if  still  in  the  elementary  school.  This 
criticism,  then,  seems  well  supported. 

Criticism  XI.  There  is  inadequate  provision  for  personal 
guidance  or  direction  —  social,  educational,  and  vocational 
—  either  in  the  elementary  or  in  the  high  school. 

It  is  obvious  that  provision  for  such  guidance  varies  greatly 
in  different  school  systems  and  even  in  different  schools  of 
the  same  system.  But  there  will  be  little  question  that  in  the 
light  of  the  recent  enlargement  of  the  conception  of  educa- 
tion and  the  emphasis  on  the  importance  of  the  individual, 
more  personal  guidance  than  generally  found  is  needed.  By 
and  large,  the  pupil  in  the  elementary  school  gets  more 
personal  attention  than  he  does  later,  but  his  teachers  are 
frequently  too  uninformed  of  the  program  of  the  high  school 
to  afford  the  educational  guidance  that  he  needs  at  promo- 
tion, and  vocational  guidance  has  in  few  places  satisfied 
the  hopes  and  expectations  with  which  it  is  usually  hailed. 
It  is  believed  that  this  criticism  is  for  the  country  at  large 
very  generally  justified. 

A  review  of  this  summary  will  show  that  most  of  the  criti- 
cisms are  reasonably  well  justified  —  so  well,  at  least,  that 
even  after  recounting  all  of  the  credits  that  justly  belong  to 
our  schools,  an  impartial  critic  is  willing  to  consider  any 
plan  that  is  likely  to  afford  at  a  reasonable  cost  a  remedy 
for  all  or  for  any  of  the  weaknesses  enumerated.  The  ques- 
tion very  naturally  follows,  however,  as  to  which  weak- 


20  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

nesses  are  inherent  in  the  eight-four  organization  and 
which  are  merely  incidental  thereto.  A  further  review  will 
show  that  although  no  one  can  cogently  contend  that 
merely  because  the  organization  exists  it  is  best,  only  a  few 
of  the  criticisms  —  the  second,  fourth,  and  tenth  —  are  of 
conditions  inherent  hi  an  eight-four  organization.  But  it 
is  argued  that  in  a  new  organization  all  changes  can  be 
more  easily  made  than  in  an  old  one.  There  are  no  tradi- 
tions among  pupils,  teachers,  or  public  as  to  what  the 
junior  high  school  should  do,  and  the  very  fact  that  it  is  a 
new  type  of  educational  institution  invites  any  changes 
that  can  be  made  to  appear  reasonable.  Certainly  one  who 
visits  junior  high  schools  will  find  in  them  a  readiness,  even 
an  eagerness,  to  try  new  programs  that  promise  advantages 
to  boys  and  girls  of  early  adolescence. 

It  remains  to  consider  the  reasonableness  of  the  junior- 
high-school  program,  the  extent  to  which  it  can  remedy  ad- 
mitted defects,  and  the  success  that  has  attended  the  schools 
so  far  established.  These  matters  will  be  considered  in  sub- 
sequent chapters. 

B.  ELEMENTARY,  INTERMEDIATE,  AND  HIGH-SCHOOL 
EDUCATION  DEFINED 

The  purpose  of  the  remainder  of  this  chapter  is  to  present 
some  fundamental  facts  and  assumptions  and  on  them  to 
build  statements  of  purposes  that  will  delimit  the  fields 
of  elementary,  intermediate,  and  high-school  education. 
Emphasis  will  of  course  be  laid  on  the  definition  and  pur- 
poses of  the  intermediate,  or  junior  high  school. 

In  such  an  organization  of  education  as  exists,  or  as  will 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    21 

exist,  in  the  United  States,  the  most  important  purposes 
of  the  elementary  school  are  conceived  to  be:  first,  to 
furnish  the  common  training  necessary  for  all  children 
"  regardless  of  sex,  social  status,  or  future  vocation  ";  and, 
second,  by  means  of  this  common  training  to  integrate  the 
future  citizens  of  our  democracy. 

The  former  of  these  two  purposes,  though  seldom  explicitly 
stated,  is  increasingly  influencing  the  program  of  elementary 
schools.  Permitting  variation  in  accord  with  local  condi- 
tions or  with  mental  endowment  of  individual  children,  it 
demands  the  searching-out  and  inclusion  in  the  unified 
courses  of  study  of  those  facts,  skills,  and  attitudes  that  are 
and  will  continue  to  be  needed  by  each  and  every  individual 
in  a  community.  Each  successive  report  of  important  com- 
mittees on  courses  of  study,  immediately  reflected  by  pro- 
gressive textbooks  if  not  anticipated  by  them,  has  in  the 
recent  past  based  its  recommendations,  either  tacitly  or  ex- 
plicitly, on  this  principle.  In  consequence  we  have  during 
the  past  generation  seen  the  exclusion  from  elementary 
courses  of  many  details  of  arithmetic,  grammar,  history,  and 
geography  that  are,  or  may  be,  of  value  only  to  those  pupils 
who  continue  their  education  beyond  the  point  to  which  all 
are  expected  to  progress.  Similarly  we  have  seen  the  inclu- 
sion of  new  elements  and  even  of  new  subjects  that  are 
believed  to  be  essential  to  adequate  living  by  each  partici- 
pant in  our  social,  industrial,  and  political  life. 

The  second  of  the  major  purposes  of  the  elementary 
school,  to  integrate  the  future  citizens  of  a  democracy,  has 
been  from  time  to  tune  presented  by  educational  theorists; 1 
1  Inglis:  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  chapters  in,  ix. 


22  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

but  until  the  discussions  of  national  aspirations  subsequent 
to  and  during  the  World  War  it  has  never  received  from 
course-makers  the  serious  consideration  that  it  deserves. 
Additional  emphasis  has  been  given  to  this  function  of  the 
common  school  by  the  conflicts  apparently  growing  at  pres- 
ent between  different  social  and  economic  classes,  each 
having  inadequate  understanding  sympathetically  to  com- 
prehend the  position  and  the  contention  of  the  others.  It 
is  argued  that  only  if  there  exists  a  large  body  of  common 
facts,  resulting  in  common  ideals  and  prejudices,  may  a 
democracy  continue  to  be  successful.  Certainly  men  are 
bound  together  in  proportion  as  they  have  common  ends  and 
a  comprehension  of  the  complex  means  necessary  for  their 
achievement. 

Beyond  the  commonly  useful  and  integrating  education 
there  develop  programs  differentiated  according  to  the  ca- 
pacities, the  aptitudes,  the  interests,  and  the  common  needs 
of  individual  pupils.  Common  training  is  relinquished  more 
or  less  slowly,  it  is  true;  but  ultimately  those  who  remain  in 
school  are  increasingly  segregated  according  to  the  specialized 
ends  that  they  seek  and  their  varying  abilities  to  achieve 
them.  The  period  in  which  differentiation  begins  and  grows 
toward  complete  separation  is  that  of  secondary  education. 

How  long  a  common,  integrating  education  should  continue 
no  one  can  with  assurance  say.  Theoretically  it  should  not 
cease  until  the  desired  ends  are  reasonably  achieved;  but 
in  practice  it  varies  greatly  in  length  and  in  effectiveness. 
As  already  pointed  out,  our  elementary  schools  continue 
for  from  seven  to  nine  years  in  different  parts  of  the  country; 
and  the  subsequent  secondary  curriculum  in  the  majority 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    23 

of  high  schools  as  yet  offers  very  little  differentiation,  and 
that  inadequately  adapted  to  the  diverse  needs  of  all  youth. 
The  result  is  that  the  high  schools,  by  and  large,  do  not 
furnish,  nor  do  they  profess  to  furnish,  training  that  has  a 
common  utility  to  all,  regardless  of  social  status  or  future 
vocation,  and  that  integration  very  largely  ceases  because 
of  the  tremendous  elimination  of  pupils  who  find  the  con- 
ventional offerings  ill-adapted  to  their  capacities,  aptitudes, 
interests,  or  probable  needs.  In  practice,  also,  the  success  of 
an  education  that  should  result  in  facts  and  skills  of  com- 
mon utility  and  in  integration  is  conditioned  by  such  vary- 
ing factors  as  the  length  of  the  school  year,  the  worth  of 
courses  of  study,  the  amount  of  training,  the  experience,  and 
the  skill  of  teachers,  the  effectiveness  of  supervision,  the  def- 
miteness  with  which  worthy  purposes  are  conceived,  and  the 
adequacy  of  the  physical  plant  and  equipment.  As  a  re- 
sult of  such  varying  factors  we  necessarily  have  astoundingly 
different  results  from  elementary  schools,  not  only  in  sepa- 
rated sections  of  the  country,  but  also  in  urban  and 
rural  districts  of  the  same  communities  and  even  in  con- 
tiguous school  districts.  This  situation  argues  cogently 
for  the  equalization  of  educational  opportunity,  not  only 
for  the  sake  of  individual  pupils,  but  even  more  for  social 
unity  and  the  consequent  welfare  of  the  nation. 

Ideally,  then,  elementary  education  of  the  kind  defined 
should  continue  until  its  two  chief  purposes  are  satisfied. 
But  there  are  at  present  other  factors  determining  its  upper 
limit.  First  of  these  are  the  compulsory  education  laws, 
which  usually  prescribe  school  attendance  until  a  child  has 
completed  at  least  his  fourteenth  year.  Until  the  laws 


24  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

are  changed  and  effectively  administered,  therefore,  no 
education,  however  wisely  planned,  can  be  generally  ef- 
fective for  more  than  eight  grades.  A  second  factor  is  the 
assumption  that  if  the  two  desired  ends  were  reasonably 
achieved  by  the  schools  of  a  generation  ago  in  eight  years, 
the  modern  elementary  school,  with  its  better  plant,  teach- 
ers, supervision,  courses,  textbooks,  and  organization,  can 
assure  as  good  results  in  a  somewhat  shorter  period.  A  third 
factor  is  the  assumption  that  because  of  assured  and  inevit- 
able individual  differences  of  various  kinds,  pupils  should, 
while  the  law  still  holds  them  in  school,  be  given  some  sys- 
tematic and  intelligent  guidance  toward  their  future  careers 
and  at  least  started  on  suitable  differentiated  training. 
These  three  factors  limit  the  elementary  school  under  exist- 
ing conditions  to  approximately  six  years. 

As  the  end  of  the  period  of  elementary  compulsory  educa- 
tion approaches,  the  school  finds  three  more  or  less  distinct 
groups  of  pupils  for  which  it  must  provide:  (1)  those  who 
can,  and  in  all  probability  will,  persist  at  least  through  the 
period  of  secondary  education;  (2)  those  who  intend  to  leave 
school  and  enter  upon  work  at,  or  shortly  after,  the  age  when 
the  law  releases  them  from  compulsory  attendance;  and 
(3)  those  whose  length  of  stay  in  school  is  for  one  reason 
or  another  highly  uncertain. 

If  these  three  groups  were  sharply  and  permanently  de- 
fined, as  they  have  been  in  certain  foreign  countries,  the 
problem  of  differentiated  education  would  be  relatively 
simple.  For  all  pupils  the  school  would  seek  the  main 
objectives  of  education  l  (health,  command  of  the  f  unda- 
1  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  35,  1918. 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    25 

mental  processes,  worthy  home-membership,  vocation,  citi- 
zenship, the  worthy  use  of  leisure,  and  ethical  character), 
giving  to  them  special  emphasis  for  the  second  and  third 
groups  of  pupils  in  that  there  is  no  assurance  that  they  will 
get  any  further  instruction  to  aid  them  in  complete  living. 
For  the  first  group  the  school  would  attempt  especially  to 
enrich  the  curriculum  and  to  accelerate  the  progress;  for 
the  second  it  would  advise  concerning  suitable  vocations  and 
prepare  each  pupil  somewhat  for  the  one  chosen;  and  for  the 
third,  by  work  of  convincing  worth  it  would  endeavor  to 
retain  each  pupil  in  school  as  long  as  it  seems  profitable  to 
him  and  to  the  State,  and  so  to  organize  the  work  as  to  make 
it  of  the  maximum  advantage  to  the  extent  that  it  may  be 
pursued.  Even  if  the  groups  were  sharply  divided,  there 
would  be,  of  course,  some  common  subject-matter. 

But  hi  a  democracy  with  such  traditions  as  ours,  actively 
demanding  that  each  individual  have  the  right  to  seek  the 
career  which  he  may  elect  and  that  no  course  be  so  closed  as 
to  prevent  a  transfer  to  some  other  which  may  later  prove  at- 
tractive, the  problem  is  much  more  complex.  Compliance 
with  these  demands  has  resulted  in  much  profitless  work 
by  pupils :  in  some  instances  they  sample  in  the  high  school 
one  curriculum  after  another,  finally  leaving  in  large  num- 
bers with  no  satisfactory  training  for  the  demands  either  of 
social  or  of  industrial  life;  in  others,  influenced  by  impos- 
sible ambitions  or  by  matters  of  small  educational  import, 
they  insist  on  pursuing  studies  for  which  their  teachers  be- 
lieve them  ill-adapted  and  in  which  they  have  a  minimum 
amount  of  success.  The  pre judgment  by  teachers  is  proved 
erroneous,  however,  in  a  sufficiently  large  proportion  of  cases 


26  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

to  make  every  one  chary  of  placing  the  decision  at  the  end 
of  elementary  education  entirely  in  their  hands. 

What  program,  then,  is  forced  upon  the  schools  by  this 
combination  of  principles  and  facts?  Clearly  an  intermedi- 
ate period  of  education,  beginning  one  or  two  years  before 
the  law  releases  any  pupil  from  study,  an  intermediate  period 
hi  which  the  schools  shall  attempt  at  least  five  things:  first,  to 
continue,  in  so  far  as  it  may  seem  wise  and  possible,  and  in 
a  gradually  diminishing  degree,  common,  integrating  edu- 
cation; second,  to  ascertain  and  reasonably  to  satisfy  pupils' 
important  immediate  and  assured  future  needs;  third,  to 
explore  by  means  of  material  in  itself  worth  while  the  inter- 
ests, aptitudes,  and  capacities  of  pupils;  fourth,  to  reveal  to 
them,  by  material  otherwise  justifiable,  the  possibilities  hi 
the  major  fields  of  learning;  and,  fifth,  to  start  each  pupil 
on  the  career  which,  as  a  result  of  the  exploratory  courses, 
he,  his  parents,  and  the  school  are  convinced  is  most  likely 
to  be  of  profit  to  him  and  to  the  State.  When  these  ends 
have  been  accomplished,  the  law  may  release  pupils  from 
compulsory  attendance  at  regular  day  schools;  sufficient 
information  has  been  gained  to  make  the  election  of  future 
study  not  only  intelligent,  but  also  attractive,  and  each 
type  of  higher  school  or  curriculum  will  receive  the  pupils 
for  which  it  was  established. 

This,  in  general,  is  the  program  that  is  proposed  for  in- 
termediate schools,  the  program  in  terms  of  which  the  facts 
concerning  such  schools  as  have  been  established  will  be 
presented  and  criticized.  It  is  not  assumed  that  a  sudden 
reorganization  of  schools  on  the  principles  outlined  is  either 
possible  or  probable.  The  program  is  presented,  however, 


THE  NEED  OF  REORGANIZATION  OF  SCHOOLS    27 

as  one  that  will  clarify  issues  and  make  more  profitable 
the  discussion  of  details  that  may  make  for  or  against  the 
functions  proposed;  it  should,  therefore,  guide  in  planning 
changes  from  time  to  time  in  schools  for  early  adolescents. 
An  ideal  must  exceed  possibilities  of  entire  fulfillment; 
otherwise  it  will  cease  to  be  of  practical  stimulus. 

In  schools  of  considerable  size  only  can  all  five  of  the 
ends  proposed  be  even  reasonably  achieved.  Therefore  the 
school  that  is  too  small  or  too  poor  to  supply  the  beginnings 
of  highly  differentiated  curricula  must  confine  itself  to  seek- 
ing the  first  four  ends  proposed,  transferring  its  pupils,  after 
the  period  of  integration  and  exploration,  to  such  institu- 
tions for  differentiated  work  as  the  State  may  provide. 
When,  because  of  economic  limitations  or  of  other  reasons, 
higher  schools  cannot  afford  the  amount  of  differentiation 
required,  some  principles  should  be  accepted  to  determine 
what  they  will  offer.  The  following  two  principles  are  pro- 
posed :  first,  such  subject-matter  shall  be  offered  as  promises 
the  largest  returns  to  the  social  unit  that  bears  the  major 
expense  of  the  school;  and,  second,  this  being  assured,  the 
offerings  shall  be  determined  by  needs  of  the  majority  of 
the  pupils  to  be  served.  Acceptance  of  these  principles  will 
result  in  revolutionary  changes  in  the  programs  of  small 
schools ;  but  such  changes  must  inevitably  be  made  —  un- 
less, indeed,  these  principles  are  denied  or  the  supporting 
taxed  unit  is  materially  enlarged.  Even  though  the  State 
or  the  Federal  Government  contribute  generously  to  the  sup- 
port of  local  schools,  as  both  are  likely  to  do  if  present  ten- 
dencies continue,  each  one  must  become  large  enough  to 
make  possible  considerable  differentiation  of  work,  or  else 


28  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

the  principles  proposed  will  still  be  potent  in  determining  the 
ideal  program.  When  they  become  effective  the  school  will 
make  a  more  assured  contribution  to  society  as  a  whole,  even 
though  families  are  forced  to  provide  at  their  own  cost  for 
individual  children  some  of  the  subjects  more  generally  of- 
fered now  at  public  expense,  even  in  the  smallest  secondary 
schools. 


CHAPTER  H 

THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

A.  HISTORICAL  SKETCH 

A  READING  of  the  history  of  education  in  the  United  States 
reveals  that  there  has  never  been  any  general  agreement 
BS  to  the  definition  of  elementary,  secondary,  and  higher 
schools.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  the  influence  of  European 
systems  was  so  strong  that  in  the  early  years  there  were 
many  "common"  and  "secondary"  schools  with  overlap- 
ping organizations  and  curricula.  Finally,  as  a  compromise 
necessitated  by  economy  and  democratic  ideals,  elementary 
schools  were  organized  for  the  education  of  all  pupils  in  the 
first  eight  years,  though  in  the  Southern  States  and  occasion- 
ally elsewhere  they  include  only  seven  grades,  and  in  parts  of 
New  England  they  still  include  nine  years.  All  of  these 
organizations  lead  to  high  schools  with  similar  curricula  pre- 
paring mostly  for  colleges.  The  variety  in  practice  may  be 
seen  in  the  Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of 
Education  for  1911.  It  states  that  669  cities  of  more  than 
8000  population  had  the  organizations  indicated  in  Table  I. 
In  the  last  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century  there  began 
a  series  of  criticisms  of  the  eight-four  organization.  These 
criticisms  were  based,  not  primarily,  as  one  might  suppose, 
on  the  illogical  distribution  of  grades,  or  on  the  persistence 
of  traditional  offerings  by  the  secondary  school  in  spite  of  a 
steady  increase  of  enrollment  which  tended  to  include  "all 
the  children  of  all  the  people,"  but  on  the  fact  that  the  age 


30  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


Number  of  citiet  Grade  combinations 

489  8-4 

48  7-4 

86  9-4 

7  8-3 

4  8-5 

3  7-5 

82  Other  combinations 

of  college  entrants  was  higher  than  many  thought  reasonable 
and  on  the  inadequacy  of  then-  preparation  as  judged  by  the 
college  to  do  its  work  satisfactorily. 

The  history  of  these  criticisms  by  individuals  and  com- 
mittees has  been  presented  by  Bunker.1  Beginning  with 
President  Eliot  in  1888  and  extending  through  the  National 
Education  Association  Committees  of  Ten  and  of  Fifteen, 
there  were  recommendations  of  an  adjustment  of  the  lower 
grades  so  that  the  preparation  for  college  might  be  satis- 
factorily completed  at  an  earlier  age.  But  all  the  time  there 
seems  to  have  been  growing  a  conviction,  clearly  expressed 
by  the  Committee  on  the  Articulation  of  High  Schools  and 
Colleges  in  1911,  that  the  secondary  school  should  give  to 
all  pupils  an  education  justifiable  and  satisfactory  to  the 
extent  taken.  The  declaration  of  this  committee  that  the 
function  of  the  high  school  is  "to  return  to  society  intelli- 
gent, able-bodied,  and  progressive  citizens"  educated  by 
enlarged  offerings  adapted  to  local  communities,  is  quite 
different  from  that  of  the  Committee  of  Ten,  which  in  1893 

1  Reorganization  of  the  Public  School  System.  Bulletin  8,  1916,  of  the 
United  States  Bureau  of  Education. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    31 

had  set  forth  the  function  as  "to  prepare  for  the  duties  of 
life  that  small  proportion  of  all  the  children  in  the  country 
.  .  .  who  show  themselves  able  to  profit  by  an  education 
prolonged  to  the  eighteenth  year  and  whose  parents  are 
able  to  support  them  while  they  remain  so  long  at  school." 

Influenced  by  the  several  committees  of  the  National 
Education  Association  a  number  of  cities  during  the  first 
decade  of  this  century  did  divide  their  schools  into  some- 
thing approximating  six  years  of  elementary  and  six  years 
of  secondary  work;  but  a  study  of  their  statements  of  pro- 
grams shows  that  for  the  most  part  the  change  was  merely 
an  extension  downward  for  one  or  two  years  of  such  subjects 
as  algebra  and  Latin,  with  more  or  less  departmental  teach- 
ing. The  reorganization  was  frequently  due  to  peculiar 
building  problems. 

During  this  decade,  and  for  several  years  following^  there 
developed  criticism  of  the  content  of  secondary-school  cur- 
ricula and  of  the  failure  to  provide  for  the  needs  of  pupils 
differing  widely  in  abilities,  interests,  and  probable  future 
schooling;  and  with  this  criticism  there  went  claims,  many 
of  them  extravagant,  for  an  intermediate  or  junior  high 
school.  A  reading  of  the  addresses,  committee  reports,  and 
magazine  articles  reveals  many  varying  conceptions  of  the 
new  type  of  school,  but  a  consistency  of  claims.  The  move- 
ment, which  was  distinctly  from  above,  being  initiated  and 
developed  by  administrators  and  educational  theorists, 
"inflamed  the  imaginations  of  schoolmen";  and  out  of  the 
discussions  came  a  fixation  of  interest  and  a  consciousness 
of  needs,  especially  of  pupils  as  individuals. 

With  eyes  fixed  on  the  claims  rather  than  on  the 


82  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

mental  conceptions  of  an  intermediate  school,  superintend- 
ents began  widely  to  reorganize  their  schools,  often  with 
inadequate  building  and  equipment,  teachers,  curricula, 
courses  of  study,  textbooks,  preparation  for  articulation  with 
lower  and  higher  schools,  and  with  other  handicaps.  This 
fact  should  constantly  be  kept  in  mind  when  one  criticizes 
the  achievement  of  junior  high  schools  that  were  early 
established.  In  the  larger  cities  the  change  was  frequently 
made  in  only  a  part  of  the  system,  sometimes  as  an  experi- 
ment and  sometimes  because  it  was  possible  for  local  reasons 
to  make  the  change  only  gradually. 

The  active  development  of  the  junior-high-school  move- 
ment may  be  said  to  have  begun  in  California  with  the 
reorganization  in  Berkeley  by  Bunker  in  1909  and  in  Los 
Angeles  by  Francis  in  1910.  Since  that  time  it  has  spread 
rapidly.  After  an  interruption  by  the  World  War,  it  has 
apparently  taken  on  a  new  impetus,  especially  in  the  cities, 
and  is  extending  in  all  parts  of  the  country.1 

The  years  in  which  the  272  junior  high  schools  report- 
ing on  this  item  were  established  may  be  seen  in  Table  II. 

TABLE  II 
SHOWING  THE  YEARS  IN  WHICH  272  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  WERE 

ESTABLISHED 
Year  Number  Year  Number 


Before  1900 

2  1912  

21 

1905  

1  1913  

27 

1907  

1  1914  

44 

1908  

3  1915  

76 

1909  

3  1916  , 

68 

1910       

11  1917  , 

....  6 

1911.. 

.  9 

1  Details  as  to  the  extent  of  the  movement  will  be  found  on  pagea  50-64. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE 'JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    88 

The  fact  that  the  number  decreases  after  1915  must  not  be 
interpreted  as  evidence  that  the  peak  of  the  movement  had 
been  passed;  it  means,  rather,  that  the  more  recently  estab- 
lished schools  were  not  known  and  so  did  not  receive  the 
questionnaire.  , 

As  suggested  above,  the  reorganization  of  schools  on  the 
6-6,  6-3-3,  or  6-2-4  plans  was  not  always  due  primarily  to  a 
conception  of  definite  programs  for  educational  reforms.  In 
some  instances  a  superintendent  had  an  outgrown  high- 
school  building  which  was  too  good  to  destroy  and  yet  not 
suited  for  all  the  elementary  grades;  in  others  there  was  a 
growth  of  population  in  a  section  of  the  city  remote  from  the 
existing  high  school;  in  others  still  there  was  overcrowding 
that  could  best  be  relieved  by  a  building  in  which  pupils  of 
the  upper  grades  and  the  first  year  of  the  high  school  could 
be  congregated.  These  and  other  similar  conditions  not 
infrequently  were  the  cogent  reasons  for  reorganization. 
Some  critics  were  hostile  to  a  movement  that  frequently  was 
not  based  on  a  clear  conception  of  educational  advancement, 
one  suggesting  that  unless  there  is  "a  definite  program  for 
the  reform  of  the  curricula,  of  the  courses  of  study,  of  the 
methods  of  teaching,  and  of  the  social  administration  of  the 
intermediate  grades,"  reorganization  should  be  left  to  better 
men.  But  it  must  be  admitted  that  junior  high  schools, 
even  when  established  for  purely  administrative  reasons, 
have  in  many  instances  made  desirable  advance  in  educa- 
tional matters  so  as  to  justify  themselves.  There  is  in  the 
intermediate  schools  to-day  a  receptivity  that  puts  a  grave 
responsibility  on  educational  leaders  and  that  promises  well 
for  the  future. 


84  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  III 

THK  CHIEF  REASON  GIVEN  BY  EACH  OF  266  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

FOB  THEIR  ESTABLISHMENT 
To  provide 

educational  opportunity 60 

for  earlier  differentiation 15 

for  more  intelligent  election 1 

for  sex  segregation 1 

better  for  grades  7,  8,  9 21 

better  for  grade  9 1 

for  children  not  adapted  to  high-school  methods 1 

for  children  of  the  industrial  classes 3 

for  children  leaving  school  early 4 

for  earlier  college  preparation 1 

for  accelerant  pupils 1 

To  increase  retention 18 

To  increase  the  enrollment 1 

To  bring  the  high  school  nearer  homes  of  pupils 1 

To  reduce  retardation 1 

To  reduce  failures 1 

To  secure  better  scholarship 1 

To  secure  better  organization 9 

To  bridge  the  gap  between  elementary  and  high  school 15 

To  reduce  costs 6 

To  save  time 4 

To  relieve  congestion 36 

To  utilize  old  high-school  building 26 

To  use  the  entire  plant 1 

To  enrich  curricula 3 

To  vitalize  education  of  adolescents 1 

To  increase  interest 2 

To  introduce  foreign  languages  earlier 2 

To  introduce  prevocational  work  earlier 11 

To  serve  rural  community  better 4 

To  provide  a  community  school 1 

To  secure  better  teaching 3 

To  introduce  departmentalization 6 

To  provide  a  demonstration  school  for  university 3 

To  keep  up  with  the  times 1 

Total..                                                                              .  266 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    35 

The  chief  reason  given  by  266  junior  high  schools  for  their 
establishment  may  be  found  in  Table  III.  It  will  be  noted 
that  these  reasons  vary  greatly,  that  they  overlap,  and  that 
in  many  cases  they  are  probably  the  expression  of  a  hope 
rather  than  the  reflection  of  a  clearly  conceived  program. 

The  chief  stimulus  for  the  establishment  of  junior  high 
schools,  as  reported  by  265  cities,  has  been  widely  varied. 
The  distribution  may  be  seen  in  Table  IV. 

TABLE  IV 

SHOWING  THE  CHIEF  INFLUENCES  IN  THE  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  265 
JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Board  of  Education 29 

Superintendent  of  Schools 225 

County  Superintendent 2 

Principal  of  High  School 2 

Principal  of  Grammar  School 3 

Teachers 1 

Colleges 2 

Community 1 

265 

What  influences  lay  beyond  those  stated  one  can  only 
guess;  but  the  effect  of  the  early  work  of  such  men  as 
Charles  Hughes  Johnston  may  still  be  seen  in  Kansas. 
There  is  no  question  that  college  departments  of  education 
stimulated  and  directed  many  of  those  who  directly  caused 
a  reorganization  of  the  schools. 

B.  MAJOR  TYPES  OF  CONCEPTION 

An  analysis  of  discussions  and  experimentation  shows 
that  there  are  three  major  conceptions  of  the  purpose  of 
the  junior  high  school :  first,  that  it  should  afford  an  earlier 


36  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

beginning  of  a  more  or  less  conventional  secondary  edu- 
cation; second,  that  it  should  furnish  trade  training  for 
those  who  will  soon  enter  work;  and,  third,  that  it  should 
explore  the  interests,  aptitudes,  and  capacities  of  pupils  and 
start  each  upon  studies  leading  to  a  suitable  goal.  Often 
the  junior  high  school  is  conceived  as  serving  two  or  more 
of  these  functions  at  the  same  time. 

Earlier  beginning  of  secondary  education.  Influenced 
by  European  practice,  this  conception  was  not  uncommon 
in  the  United  States  long  before  the  junior-high-school  move- 
ment began.  For  a  number  of  years  the  Boston  Latin 
School  has  received  for  a  six-year  secondary  course  pupils 
who  were  prepared  to  enter  the  regular  seventh  grade,  and 
many,  perhaps  most,  of  the  "  fitting  schools,"  especially  in 
the  East,  begin  their  preparation  for  college  at  approxi- 
mately the  seventh  grade.  These  schools  are  for  pupils  who 
not  only  are  assured  of  the  opportunity  for  education  in 
college  or  university,  but  who  also  for  the  most  part  have 
had  superior  advantages  in  their  elementary  schools  and 
in  their  environments,  at  home  and  often  in  travel.  For 
such  selected  pupils  the  curriculum  should  be  considerably 
enriched  or  else  completed  in  one  or  more  years  fewer  than 
normally  required.  But  not  even  in  the  published  pro- 
grams do  these  selected  pupils  equal  their  fellows  in  Euro- 
pean schools. 

The  extension  to  the  public  school  of  such  an  earlier 
beginning  of  secondary  education  involves  the  difficulty  of 
ascertaining  which  pupils  can  and  probably  will  continue 
their  education  beyond  the  high  school  and  at  the  same 
time  have  the  peculiar  aptitudes  and  abilities  required  for 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    37 

the  belles-lettres  curriculum.  The  custom  with  us  has  been 
not  only  to  permit,  but  also  to  encourage,  every  pupil  to  as- 
pire to  the  most  advanced  academic  and  professional  edu- 
cation offered  by  secondary  and  higher  schools.  The  result 
is  that  many  a  parent  makes  extreme  sacrifice  *  to  secure 
for  his  children  an  education  for  which  they  may  be  in  no 
manner  naturally  endowed.  This  American  ambition  — 
to  secure  for  the  next  generation  a  better  lot  than  that  of 
their  parents  —  does  make  this  the  land  of  opportunity,  but 
it  also  makes  its  schools  institutions  of  amazing  waste.  As 
at  present  organized,  the  college  preparatory  curricula  af- 
ford a  minimum  contribution  to  the  pupils  who  after  pur- 
suing them  for  from  one  to  four  semesters  transfer  to  trade 
curricula  or  leave  school  for  work. 

The  alternative  seems  to  be  the  restriction  of  academic 
preparatory  courses  to  such  pupils  as  manifest  by  their 
elementary -school  records  or  by  mental  tests  ability  to  pur- 
sue them  successfully  or  else  to  leave  the  responsibility,  as 
largely  is  the  practice  at  present,  to  the  individual  pupil  and 
his  parents.  The  former  plan  is  as  yet  somewhat  inaccu- 
rate in  its  prognosis;  the  latter  assures  large  losses  —  in 
finances  to  the  community,  in  spirit,  outlook,  ambition,  and 
self-confidence  to  pupils  who  try  and  fail,  in  retarded  and 
limited  progress  to  those  who  have  the  ability  and  aptitudes 
to  succeed,  and  in  faith  in  the  schools  to  parents  and  other 
taxpayers.  Certainly  neither  alternative  makes  this  con- 
ception of  the  junior  high  school  satisfactory. 

Earlier  beginning  of  trade  training.     The  second  con- 

1  See  Strayer  and  Thorndike:  Educational  Administration,  pp.  69-73, 
summarizing  Van  Denburg's  study  of  persistence  of  high-school  pupils. 


88  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

ception  of  the  junior  high  school  is  based  on  a  desire  to  pro- 
vide for  the  large  number  of  boys  and  girls  who  leave  school 
at  or  soon  after  the  close  of  the  compulsory  education  period. 
In  European  countries,  where  birth  and  economic  status  have 
largely  determined  possibilities  of  future  vocations,  and 
where  tuition  fees  have  been  charged  for  all  secondary  edu- 
cation, the  task  has  been  relatively  simple:  on  the  basis  of 
a  brief  elementary  education  each  pupil  has  been  trained 
for  his  predestined  lot  in  life.  American  democracy  has  con- 
sistently demanded  that  for  every  pupil  education  shall  be 
open  at  the  top  so  that  he  may  proceed  as  far  as  his  inter- 
ests, abilities,  and  ambitions  may  carry  him.  This  demand 
has  in  the  past  largely  prevented  adequate  provisions  for  the 
pupil  who,  with  or  without  the  approval  of  his  parents,  has 
elected  not  to  remain  in  school  for  such  offerings  as  it  pro- 
vided. 

The  objections  to  the  conception  that  would  make  the 
junior  high  school  a  trade-training  institution  are  four: 
first,  that  it  is  undemocratic  to  make  an  early  segregation 
of  pupils  on  the  basis  of  future  vocations,  thus  prematurely 
stopping  the  common  education  that  makes  for  common 
understandings  and  integration;  second,  that  because  of  the 
social  stigma  often  attached  to  the  vocational  curricula,  or 
rather  the  positive  social  Distinction  associated  with  the 
academic,  it  is  difficult  to  secure  registration  for  vocational 
training  by  many  pupils  most  in  need  of  it;  third,  that  it 
is  impossible  to  foretell  with  anything  like  accuracy  at  the 
age  of  twelve  or  thirteen  what  specific  trade  a  pupil  will  or 
should  follow;  and,  finally,  that  the  concrete  work  and 
novelty  of  trade  courses  attract  and  send  prematurely  to 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    39 

wage-earning  many  pupils  who  can  and  should  have  ex- 
tended education,  either  academic  or  technical.  Such  ob- 
jections have  influenced  the  British  *  in  their  recent  reform 
to  provide  for  pupils  up  to  the  age  of  eighteen  only  an  edu- 
cation of  broad  nature,  preparing  youth  for  the  general  life 
that  he  soon  will  enter  —  education,  that  is,  leading  to  a 
sound  physical  body,  to  a  knowledge  of  the  fundamental 
laws  of  health,  to  the  wise  use,  of  leisure,  to  effective  home- 
membership,  and  the  like.  As  shown  elsewhere,  however, 
there  is  widespread  approval  of  specific  trade-training  in 
American  junior  high  schools  for  pupils,  especially  those 
over-aged,  who  cannot  be  retained  by  any  other  means  and 
who  have  determined  on  an  early  entrance  on  wage-earning. 

Despite  the  difficulties  there  is  a  steady  increase  in  dignity 
and  in  popularity  of  the  vocational  curricula  —  so  much  so 
that  there  are  constant  expressions  of  alarm  from  those  who 
believe  education  to  be  merely  "  book  learning."  To  an 
observer  of  many  schools  the  danger  seems  to  be  rather  that 
the  vocational  courses  are  too  frequently  in  themselves 
formal  and  not  sufficiently  supported  by  general  courses 
adapted  to  assured  and  early  needs  than  that  they  are  in- 
creasing in  number  and  importance.  So  long  as  we  continue 
our  policy  of  permitting  mistakes  of  election  to  be  rectified 
whenever  a  pupil  accepts  a  different  life  aim,  there  is  small 
chance  that  the  United  States  will  train  too  large  a  propor- 
tion of  its  pupils  for  skilled  and  semi-skilled  industrial  careers. 

Although  a  constantly  increasing  number  of  schools  are 
offering  more  or  less  acceptable  curricula  designed  for  pupils 
who  will  leave  at  the  age  of  fourteen  to  sixteen,  most  of 
1  Educational  Bill,  1918. 


40  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

them  offer  the  academic  curricula  too.  The  Lafayette 
Bloom  Junior  High  School  of  Cincinnati  is  a  conspicuous 
example  of  an  institution  with  a  single  aim,  the  training  of 
youth  who  are  likely  to  get  no  further  schooling.  This 
school,  which  contains  ten  grades  beyond  the  kindergarten, 
is  located  in  a  neighborhood  populated  by  working-men 
and  their  families.  If  at  any  time  after  a  pupil  completes 
the  eighth  grade  it  becomes  reasonably  certain  that  he  will 
continue  through  a  regular  high-school  course,  he  is  trans- 
ferred to  one  of  the  city  cosmopolitan  high  schools.  For 
those  who  remain  courses  are  offered  that  will  contribute 
to  their  more  effective  living.  Some  of  the  courses  might 
well  be  deferred  until  later  if  there  were  any  assurance  that 
the  State  would  get  another  chance  to  continue  its  edu- 
cation of  the  pupils.  One  of  these  courses  presents  some 
fundamental  conceptions  of  economics,  a  subject  usually 
presented  only  in  college,  but  recently  offered,  often  with 
apologies  for  its  incompleteness,  in  larger  senior  high  schools. 
Principal  Gosling  argued  that  there  was  no  attempt  to  cover 
the  subjects  as  outlined  in  texts  for  mature  students,  but 
rather  to  present  in  a  simple  manner  some  fundamental 
conceptions  of  wealth,  poverty,  capital,  labor,  etc.,  that 
should  be  possessed  by  every  citizen  whatever  his  occupa- 
tion. The  alternative  was  conceived  to  be  the  inaccurate 
and  misleading  information  fortuitously  conveyed  by  the 
press  and  the  political  orator. 

Two  other  courses  in  the  Bloom  School  may  be  cited  as 
illustrative  of  this  type  of  work  —  one  in  the  care  of  chil- 
dren, which  is  outlined  elsewhere, l  and  the  other  in  the  in- 
1  See  page  164. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    41 

telligent  use  of  books.  This  latter  course  was  given  in  the 
public  library,  near  which  the  school  is  very  properly  lo- 
cated. Once  a  week  certain  of  the  pupils  were  taken  to 
the  library  in  the  morning,  when  the  adult  public  is  seldom 
there  in  numbers,  and  taught  the  classification  of  books  on 
the  shelves  and  the  use  of  the  card  catalogue  and  the  more 
important  books  of  reference.  At  this  time,  too,  pupils  were 
under  guidance  permitted  to  look  up  topics  assigned  by 
teachers  of  other  classes.  After  the  formal  instruction  the 
pupils  were  permitted  to  browse  through  the  shelves  and 
to  "  sample  "  books  to  which  they  were  attracted.  Such 
sampling  gave  a  stimulus  to  the  drawing  of  books  for  home 
reading  and  afforded  an  exceptional  opportunity  for  the 
teacher  by  personal  conferences  and  suggestions  to  direct 
the  interests  of  the  pupils  and  to  improve  the  quality  of  the 
reading.  Another  period  each  week  the  pupils  spent  in  the 
library  taking  a  course  in  contemporary  biography.  Books 
and  articles  containing  information  regarding  men  and 
women  important  in  the  world's  work  were  found  and  read, 
and  the  reports  were  followed  by  discussion.  The  possi- 
bilities of  such  courses  are  obvious. 

The  advantages  of  this  second  conception  of  the  junior 
high  school  are,  that  it  will  afford  to  some  pupils  who  need 
it  a  training  in  a  trade  by  which  they  may  make  a  living, 
and  at  the  same  time  retain  them  in  school  to  get  some  prep- 
aration for  other  phases  of  life  and  to  receive  from  associa- 
tion with  pupils  with  other  futures  and  from  extra-curricula 
activities  an  integration  that  makes  for  democratic  society. 

Exploration.  The  third  of  the  more  important  concep- 
tions of  the  junior  high  school  proposes  not  so  much  to 


42  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

save  time  for  each  pupil  by  an  earlier  beginning  of  specific 
preparation  for  his  chosen  or  destined  work  in  life  as  it 
does  to  spend  two  or  three  years  in  assuming  that  differ- 
entiation is  as  intelligently  as  possible  made.  In  other 
words,  it  proposes  to  explore  by  means  of  material  in  itself 
worth  while  the  interests,  aptitudes,  and  capacities  of  the 
pupils,  and  at  the  same  time  to  reveal  by  material  otherwise 
justifiable  the  possibilities  in  the  major  fields  of  activity, 
both  intellectual  and  industrial.  Exceptions  may  be  made 
for  those  pupils  who  assuredly  will  continue  their  education 
through  the  high  school  or  for  those  who  assuredly  will 
enter  early  on  work. 

This  program  is  exemplified  frequently  by  "  try-out " 
courses,  somewhat  valuable  for  those  who  do  not  continue 
the  work.  The  procedure  is  to  an  extent  justified  by  the 
fact  that  it  is  more  economical  for  a  pupil  to  experiment 
at  the  age  of  twelve  to  fifteen  than  it  will  be  two  or  three 
years  later.  It  may  be  noted  at  this  point  that  it  is  as  truly 
an  achievement  for  a  pupil  to  learn  early  that  he  does  not 
have  an  aptitude  for  a  particular  study  as  that  he  does,  or 
for  him  to  learn  that  a  vocation  does  not  have  for  him  the 
possibilities  for  advancement  that  he  demands  as  that  it 
does.  An  intermediate  school  in  New  York  City  offers 
"  try-out "  courses  for  boys  in  sheet-metal  work  and  for 
girls  in  power-machine  sewing,  vocations  that  draw  heavily 
on  the  neighborhood  for  workers.  The  result,  however,  is 
that  the  boys  and  girls  who  take  the  courses  seldom  on  leav- 
ing school  follow  the  trades,  having  learned  by  their  experi- 
ence and  visits  to  shops  of  the  poor  working  conditions,  un- 
satisfactory wages,  and  limitations  on  advancement. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    43 

An  acceptance  of  this  fundamental  aim  of  the  junior 
high  school  demands  that  it  offer  the  possibility  of  a  great 
deal  more  than  merely  a  "  try-out."  The  courses  should  be 
formulated  so  as  to  be  primarily  of  value  to  each  pupil, 
whatever  his  future  election,  so  as  to  stimulate  him  toward 
the  highest  career  for  which  he  may  prove  to  be  fitted,  so  as 
to  furnish  a  sound  foundation  for  his  future  studies  in  the 
same  field,  and  finally,  so  as  to  integrate  the  whole  social 
group.  It  is  reasonable  to  expect  that  as  the  course  pro- 
gresses there  will  be  an  increasing  differentiation,  so  that  at 
the  end  of  the  ninth  or  tenth  grade  the  pupils  will  very  gener- 
ally have  settled  into  curricula  leading  to  their  general  fields  of 
life-work.  This  does  not  mean  that  mistakes  in  election  can- 
not after  this  time  be  remedied;  it  does  mean,  however,  that 
changes  in  purpose  will  be  penalized  by  some  months  of  addi- 
tional study.  The  ninth  grade  was  used  by  Cox  at  Solvay, 
New  York,  and  later  at  St.  Louis  as  an  "  adjustment  year." 

This  conception  of  the  junior  high  school  requires  more 
reorganization  of  courses  of  study  in  particular  subjects  than 
does  either  of  the  other  conceptions  that  are  widely  held, 
and  so  far  relatively  little  has  been  achieved  in  formulating 
exploratory  courses  which  at  the  same  time  lead  to  other 
highly  desired  and  assured  results;  but  the  ideal  is  widely 
accepted,  and  here  and  there  courses  are  being  constructed 
or  revised  to  achieve  it.  Progress  of  this  nature  will  neces- 
sarily be  slow  until  the  contributions  of  many  teachers  are 
combined  and  made  widely  public. 

The  report  of  the  English  Committee  of  the  Commission 
on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education  l  accepts 
1  Bulletin  2,  1917,  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education. 


44  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

this  as  one  of  its  fundamental  purposes,  as  do  the  reports  of 
several  of  the  other  committees  working  under  the  National 
Education  Association  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education.  Lodge  l  has  outlined  such  a  course 
for  Latin,  and  a  similar  one  has  been  taught  at  the  Wash- 
ington Junior  High  School,  Rochester,  New  York,  under  the 
direction  of  Dr.  Mason  D.  Gray,  and  at  Neodesha,  Kansas. 
Such  exploratory  courses  in  modern  foreign  languages,  of 
assured  worth  however  briefly  continued,  would  necessitate 
the  early  introduction,  along  with  common  vocabulary  and 
simple  constructions,  of  the  history  of  the  people  who  speak 
the  language,  of  the  geography  of  their  country,  of  the  de- 
tails of  their  private  life,  of  the  national  character  and  as- 
pirations, of  literature  in  translation,  and  of  the  contribu- 
tions of  the  language  to  English. 

Nearly  all  of  the  recent  junior-high-school  textbooks  in 
mathematics  exemplify  with  varying  degrees  of  consistency 
the  worth-while  exploratory  course,  emphasizing  various 
assured  practical  uses  of  arithmetic  and  introducing  the 
more  commonly  used  operations  of  algebra,  constructive 
geometry,  and  even  of  trigonometry  that  are  likely  to  be 
of  value  whether  the  subject  is  continued  or  not.  Most 
of  the  numerous  general  science  texts  have  this  conception 
as  their  implied  or  clearly  enunciated  basis.  And  it  is  not 
difficult  to  conceive  of  a  general  social-science  course,  draw- 
ing its  materials  from  history,  civics,  sociology,  and  eco- 
nomics, to  give  an  elementary  understanding  of  the  various 
fields  and  to  aid  in  solving  some  of  the  problems  that  will 
soon  lie  before  every  pupil  as  a  citizen. 

1  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  18,  pp.  113-21. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    45 

Consistent  courses  in  fine  arts  and  music  will  deal  much 
more  with  appreciation  than  they  generally  do  at  present. 
While  learning  to  draw,  paint,  and  design  as  they  are  likely 
to  be  called  on  to  do  later  in  life,  boys  and  girls  will  be 
taught  something  of  the  world's  masterpieces  of  painting, 
sculpture,  and  architecture.  Music  will  not  merely  give  a 
knowledge  of  chorus  singing  and  a  love  for  it;  it  will  also 
teach  the  major  forms  of  composition,  the  instruments  of 
band  and  orchestra,  and  the  themes  of  great  masterpieces. 
As  pupils'  tastes  are  formed  in  both  fine  arts  and  music, 
teachers  will  discover  particular  aptitudes  and  skills  which 
should  receive  encouragement  and  training  in  differentiated 
courses. 

Industrial  work  for  boys,  whether  the  all-round  shop  for 
the  small  school  explained  by  C.  A.  Bowman  in  the  Manual 
Training  Magazine  (vol.  18,  pp.  177-80)  or  the  rotation 
shop-work  practiced  in  New  York  (the  Ettinger  Plan),  in 
Rochester,  in  Duluth,  in  Grand  Rapids,  and  in  many  other 
places,  looks  toward  this  ideal.  To  be  most  effective  for 
this  purpose,  however,  this  type  of  industrial  work  should 
be  supplemented  by  a  study  of  occupations,  both  from  books 
and  from  field  trips  to  shops  and  factories.  The  industrial 
work  for  girls  will  contain  elements  not  only  of  sewing  and 
cooking,  but  also  of  millinery,  nursing,  household  econo- 
mics, and  home  management.1 

It  is  argued  by  the  proponents  of  this  plan  of  exploration 
that  it  should  be  prescribed  for  all,  or  nearly  all,  pupils  re- 

1  See  Cooley  and  others,  Teachers  College  Record  vol.  19,  pp.  119-30, 
229-58,  369-89;  and  for  bibliography  see  Bulletin  46, 1919,  of  the  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education. 


46  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

gardless  of  the  definiteness  of  their  life  ambitions,  for  the 
purpose  of  integrating  the  whole  social  body.  The  youth 
who  is  likely  to  be  an  industrial  worker  should  have  some 
glimpse  of  the  fields  in  which  his  fellow  academic  student 
must  work  in  preparation  for  a  professional  career,  and  the 
latter  should  learn  some  of  the  difficulties  to  be  overcome  by 
the  former  in  order  that  each  may  to  some  extent  under- 
stand and  appreciate  the  other's  complementing  contribu- 
tion to  the  world's  work.  To  what  extent  this  ideal  in  a 
democracy  can  be  attained  remains  to  be  seen.  As  an  ideal 
it  is  likely  to  be  generally  accepted. 

The  purpose  of  this  section  is  to  set  forth  the  three  major 
conceptions  of  the  junior  high  school  which  are  to-day  con- 
tending for  general  acceptance,  and  to  emphasize  the  ne- 
cessity of  a  clear  understanding  of  more  or  less  conflicting 
purposes  before  any  extensive  reorganization  is  made. 
Ideally  the  arguments  seem  most  cogent  for  an  intermedi- 
ate school  of  the  exploratory  type,  but  doubtless  many  com- 
promises involving  the  two  other  types  will  be  necessitated 
by  the  lack  of  complete  programs,  adequate  teachers,  and 
equipment,  or  by  certain  local  conditions,  such  as  the  char- 
acter and  traditions  of  the  population  in  a  community  and 
laws  for  compulsory  school  attendance. 

C.  DEFINITIONS 

The  various  names  assigned  to  the  new  type  of  school 
give  little  or  no  clue  to  the  conception  held  by  the  founders. 
Junior  high  school,  intermediate  school,  junior  school,  de- 
partmental school,  and  other  names  alike  indicate  the  insti- 
tution established  to  improve  the  education  of  pupils  of  early 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    47 

adolescence.  Probably  in  the  minds  of  those  who  invented 
the  names,  the  intermediate  school  was  conceived  primarily 
as  a  transition  between  the  elementary  grades  and  the  high 
school,  and  the  junior  high  school  as  an  institution  to  com- 
plete the  education  of  those  pupils  who  expect  to  enter  on 
work  about  the  age  of  fifteen.  But  at  the  present  nearly  all 
junior  high  schools  attempt  both  functions.  In  California 
the  name  intermediate  school  is  general ;  in  the  North  Central 
territory  57.3  per  cent  bear  the  name  junior  high  school, 
which  is  most  frequent  elsewhere  in  the  United  States. 

There  are  three  methods  of  securing  a  definition  of  the  new 
institution.  The  first  is  to  state  an  individual  opinion;  the 
second  is  to  use  the  laboratory  method  —  examine  a  large 
number  of  intermediate  schools  that  are  said  to  be  reorgan- 
ized and  use  the  common  elements  as  a  basis  for  definition; 
and  the  third  is  to  secure  the  composite  opinion  of  men  who 
are  most  competent  to  judge  what  a  junior  high  school  is 
or  should  be. 

During  the  past  decade  many  individual  definitions  have 
been  made.1  All  of  these  are  interesting,  of  course,  as 
revealing  a  varied  and  developing  conception  of  the  new 
type  of  school;  but  each  has  only  the  validity  resulting  from 
the  vision  of  its  author.  For  several  reasons  it  is  difficult  to 
compare  these  individual  definitions,  as  some  are  positive 
while  others  are  negative;  they  are  based  on  purposes,  re- 
sults, organization,  administration,  curricula,  methods  of 
teaching,  age  of  pupils,  and  the  like;  they  often  are  in  terms 
of  what  ideally  should  be,  unqualified  by  the  limitations  of 

1  A  number  of  these  are  quoted  by  Douglass  in  The  Junior  High  School, 
pp.  14-16, 


48  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

practical  application;  and  they  nearly  always  are  stated  in 
condensed  form,  the  elements  determined  by  the  particular 
purpose  for  which  they  are  presented.  After  all,  as  Augus- 
tine Birrell  has  said  of  Liberalism,  the  junior  high  school  is 
not  at  present  a  definite  institution,  but  rather  a  state  of 
mind,  or  a  striving  to  achieve  a  vision,  either  limited  or 
extensive. 

Charles  Hughes  Johnston,1  one  of  the  pioneers  in  second- 
ary-school reorganization  who  had  wide  information  and 
an  even  wider  vision,  wrote  that  the  junior  high  school 

is  the  name  we  have  come  to  associate  with  new  ideas  of  promotion, 
new  methods  of  preventing  elimination,  new  devices  for  moving 
selected  groups  through  subject-matter  at  different  rates,  higher 
compulsory  school  age,  new  and  thorough  analysis  of  pupil  popu- 
lations, enriched  courses,  varied  and  partially  differentiated  cur- 
riculum offerings,  scientifically  directed  study  practice,  new  schemes 
for  all  sorts  of  educational  guidance,  new  psychological  characteri- 
zations of  types  in  approaching  the  paramount  school  problem  of 
individual  differences,  new  school  year,  new  school  day,  new  kind 
of  class  exercise,  new  kinds  of  laboratory  and  library  equipment 
and  utilization,  and  new  kinds  of  intimate  community  service. 

Other  features  that  he  specifically  mentions  elsewhere  are 
provision  for  the  over-age  pupil,  better  teachers  and  better 
supervision,  increased  exploration  facilities,  project  and 
other  like  methods  of  instruction,  discipline  adjusted  to 
early  adolescence,  departmental  teaching,  and  design  in 
curriculum  organization.  "  Curriculum  differentiation,"  he 
says,  "  is  the  crucial  issue." 

A  large  number  of  individual  definitions  have  been  col- 
lated, however,  and  the  results  presented  2  so  that  one  may 

1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  2,  pp.  413-24. 
8  Briggs:  "A  Composite  Definition  of  the  Junior  High  School,"  Educa- 
tional Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  6,  pp.  181  ff. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    49 

see  what  elements  have  seemed  to  those  interested  in  the 
movement  of  most  importance.  The  percentages  in  this 
composite  definition,  which  may  be  seen  in  Table  V,  should 
not  be  understood,  however,  as  indicating  the  relative  im- 
portance of  the  items;  for  if  all  the  items  were  marked 
even  by  the  authors  quoted,  the  results  would  probably 
be  different. 

TABLE  V 

SHOWING  THE  PER  CENT  OF  68  INDIVIDUALS  WHO  INCLUDED  EACH 
ITEM  IN  A  DEFINITION  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Items  Per  cent 

Provisions  for  individual  differences 64 . 7 

Departmental  teaching 51.5 

Retention  in  school 48 . 5 

Differentiated  curricula 41.2 

Combination  of  grades  7,  8,  9 41 . 2 

Enriched  curricula 39 . 7 

Promotion  by  subject 39 . 7 

Gradual  transition 36 . 8 

Economy  of  time 29 . 4 

Homogeneous  grouping 23 . 4 

Exploration  of  interests,  aptitudes,  and  capacities 22. 1 

Supervised  study 20 . 6 

Vitalized  instruction 20 . 6 

Provisions  for  adolescence 20 . 6 

Segregation  (distinct  educational  unit) 19.2 

Flexible  curricula 16.2 

Provisions  for  social  interests 16 . 2 

Prevocational  training 14.7 

Reorganization  of  subject-matter 10 . 3 

Satisfaction  of  community  needs 10.3 

Elimination  of  undesirable  subject-matter 7.4 

Educational  guidance , 7.4 

Vocational  guidance 7.4 

Vocational  or  trade  training 7.4 

Encouragement  of  initiative 5.9 


50  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

One  careful  attempt  to  define  the  junior  high  school  is 
that  by  Lewis. l    He  sets  up  the  following  ten  standards : 

1.  Entrance  requirements.  It  is  proposed  that  the  entrance 
requirements  for  a  junior  high  school  shall  provide  for  the  admis- 
sion of  three  different  groups  of  children :  (a)  those  regularly  pro- 
moted from  the  previous  grade;  (6)  those  of  14  to  21  years  of  age 
and  of  uncertain  or  low  educational  attainments;  and  (c)  many 
ambitious  children  who  have  left  school,  but  desire  to  return  for 
more  education. 

2.  Classification  of  pupils.  Seven  bases  are  proposed :  maturity, 
ability  to  learn  and  to  do,  probable  future  schooling,  natural 
capacity  and  interest,  command  of  the  English  language,  marked 
physical  and  mental  abnormalities,  and  sex. 

8.  Grades  included.    Preferably  7  to  9. 

4.  Housing.    No  one  of  the  four  plans  recommended. 

5.  Methods  of  promotion.     By  subjects,  semi-annually. 

6.  Number  and  kinds  of  curricula.     "Every  junior  high  school 
should  maintain  at  least  two  courses:  a  general  prevocational 
course  largely  free  from  the  so-called  high-school  subjects  and  open 
to  children  who  will  probably  not  enter  the  senior  high  school; 
the  second  course  should  be  a  literary  or  high-school  preparatory 
course  for  those  intending  to  enter  the  senior  high  school." 

7.  Departmentalized  instruction. 

8.  Preparation  of  teachers.     "All  teachers  shall  be  graduates  of 
a  four-year  high-school  course  or  its  equivalent.    In  addition  they 
shall  be  graduates  of  a  standard  normal  school  with  at  least  one 
year  of  practice-teaching  experience  or  they  shall  have  had  at  least 
two  years  of  college  work,  with  preparation  in  the  branches  to 
be  taught,  with  practice-teaching  experience.     Furthermore,  all 
teachers  shall  be  required  to  have  had  two  years  of  distinctive  suc- 
cessful teaching  experience,  preferably  in  the  grades,  and  show 
some  evidence  of  professional  interest,  training,  and  study  before 
being  employed  to  teach  in  junior  high  schools.     Better  still,  all 
should  be  college  graduates,  with  practice-teaching  experience  and 
one  year  of  successful  classroom  experience  in  the  grades.     It  is 

1  "Standards  for  Measuring  Junior  High  Schools,"  University  of  Iowa 
Extension  Bulletin,  No.  25. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    51 

desirable  that  special  preparation  should  be  made  during  the  col- 
lege course  to  teach  one  or  two  subjects." 

9.  Pupil  advisory  system.    A  systematic  scheme  for  educational, 
vocational,  and  personal  advice. 

10.  Supervised  study. 

The  North  Central  Association  in  1918  adopted  the  fol- 
lowing definition  and  statement  of  aims : 

The  junior  high  school  shall  normally  include  the  7th,  8th,  and 
9th  years  of  public-school  work.  The  junior-high-school  organiza- 
tion and  administration  shall  realize  the  following  aims  and  pur- 
poses: 

1.  To  continue  through  its  instructional  program  the  aims  of 
public  education  in  a  democracy. 

2.  To  reduce  to  the  minimum  the  elimination  of  pupils  by  offer- 
ing types  of  work  best  suited  to  their  interests,  needs,  and  capacities. 

3.  To  give  the  pupil  an  opportunity  under  systematic  educa- 
tional guidance  to  discover  his  dominant  interests,  capacities,  and 
limitations  with  reference  to  his  future  vocational  activities  or  the 
continuance  of  his  education  in  higher  schools. 

4.  To  economize  time  through  such  organization  and  adminis- 
tration of  subjects  and  courses  both  for  those  who  will  continue 
their  education  in  higher  schools  and  for  those  who  will  enter  im- 
mediately into  life's  activities. 

The  New  International  Dictionary,  advised  by  experts  in 
education,  defines  the  junior  high  school  as: 

A  school  organization  intermediate  between  the  grammar  school 
and  the  high  school,  formed  by  a  union  of  the  upper  grades  of  the 
grammar  school  usually  with  one,  and  occasionally  with  two, 
grades  of  the  high  school,  making  a  separate  group  and  aiming  to 
provide  for  individual  differences  among  students  and  also  to  facili- 
tate transfer  from  the  grammar  school  to  the  high  school,  especially 
by  allowing  a  limited  amount  of  election  of  studies  and  by  employ- 
ing departmental  teachers. 

Because  of  the  wide  variability  in  junior  high  schools  a 
laboratory  study  of  their  practice  can  yield  no  satisfactory 


52  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

definition  at  present.  On  this  basis  one  can  say  scarcely 
more  than  that  the  junior  high  school  is  an  institution  for  the 
education  of  boys  and  girls  of  early  adolescence. 

There  are  some  data,  however,  that  contribute  to  a  defini- 
tion on  this  basis.  In  the  questionnaire  principals  were 
asked  to  check  each  of  four  phases  of  a  definition  to  indicate 
which  characterize  their  schools.  Following  is  the  definition 
with  the  number  and  per  cent  of  275  schools  checking  each 
part: 

The  junior  high  school  is  a  special  organization  of  one  or  more 
grades  of  7  to  10  — 

a.  Providing  by  various  means  for  individual  differences,  espe- 
cially by  an  earlier  introduction  of  prevocational  work  and  of 
subjects  usually  taught  in  the  high  school.     (204,  or  74.2  per 
cent.) 

b.  Providing   departmental   teaching,   promotion   by   subject, 
differentiated  curricula,  and  special  attention  to  extra-class 
activities.     (246,  or  88.7;  with  3,  or  1.1  per  cent,  saying 
"partial.") 

c.  Providing  by  means  of  extensive  and  practical  courses  explo- 
ration for  the  pupils  of  various  fields  of  learning  and  of  the 
pupils'  own  interests,  aptitudes,  and  abilities.     (137,  or  49.8 
per  cent;  with  13,  or  4.7  per  cent  saying  "partial.") 

d.  Providing  training  particularly  to  fit  for  life  the  pupils  likely 
to  leave  school  before  completing  the  senior  high  school. 
(151,  or  54.9  per  cent;  with  14,  or  5.1  per  cent  saying  "partial.") 

The  third  method,  the  formulation  of  a  definition  by 
the  composite  opinion  of  men  who  have  shown  the  most 
interest  in  the  new  type  of  institution,  has  been  used  twice. 

Childs  *  reports  that  twenty-five  Indiana  superintendents 
of  schools  gave  to  eighteen  items  in  junior  high  schools  the 
following  relative  ranks: 

1  Reorganization  Movement  in  the  Grammar  Grades  of  Indiana  Schools, 
p.  17. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    53 

A.  Subject  modifications: 

1.  Reorganized  courses  of  study. 

2.  Opportunity  for  pupils  to  take  more  extensive  offerings  in 
prevocational  subjects  than  the  minimum  state  require- 
ments. 

4.  Opportunity  for  pupils  to  take  some  subjects  of  the  high 
school  earlier,  as  foreign  languages  or  algebra. 

B.  Revised  methods: 

5.  Departmental  teaching. 

8.  The  use  of  the  same  teachers  as  in  the  senior  high  school, 
both  in  academic  and  special  subjects. 

9.  Reorganized  methods  of  teaching. 

10.  Provision  for  supervised  study. 

C.  Organization: 

6.  Close  contact  of  grammar-school  grades  with  the  senior 
high  school  with  respect  to  housing  and  the  use  of  labora- 
tories and  equipment. 

15.5.  A  distinctive  organization  separate  from  the  elementary 
grades  and  the  senior  high  school. 

D.  Provisions  for  individual  differences: 

3.  Provision   for  greater  differentiation  of  curricula  than 
under  the  old  conditions. 

7.  Promotion  by  subject. 

11.  Provision  for  rapid  advancement  of  bright  groups. 

18.  Opportunity  for  over-age  pupils  regardless  of  their  scho- 
lastic attainments. 
15.5.    Shortening  the  period  of  elementary-  and  high-school 

training  by  one  year. 

17.    Provision  for  specific  training  along  lines  of  interest  and 
ability. 

E.  Provision  for  exploration  and  guidance: 

12.5.    Provision  for  educational  and  vocational  information  and 

guidance. 

12.5.    Opportunity  to  discover  interests  and  capacities. 
14.   Better  organization  of  pupils'  social  activities. 

Briggs  l  used  a  more  comprehensive  series  of  items  and 
1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  5,  pp.  283-301. 


54  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

a  larger  number  of  judges  (16  professors  of  education,  8 
state  superintendents  of  schools  or  their  representatives, 
19  city  superintendents,  and  18  principals  of  junior  high 
schools)  to  secure  a  similar  composite  definition.  Following 
are  the  items  with  the  percentage  of  the  judges  voting  each 
(A)  as  essential,  (B)  as  desirable,  and  (C)  as  either  essential 
or  desirable.  Numerous  qualifications  to  the  answers  are 
quoted  in  the  article  from  which  these  data  are  taken : 

TABLE  VI 

SHOWING  PER  CENTS  OF  APPROVAL  OF  DEFINITION  UNITS 

1.  A  distinct  educational  unit,  (A,  54.1;  B,  14.8;  C,  68.9.) 

2.  separated  in  organization  from  the  elementary  grades,    (A, 
62.3;  B,  24.6;  C,  86.9.) 

3.  separated  in  organization  from  the  senior  high  school.     (A, 
41.0;  B,  44.3;  C,  85.3.) 

Combining  the  school  years 

4.  7-8     (A,  9.8;  B,  9.8;  C,  19.7.) 

5.  7-9     (A,  41.0;  B,  54.1;  C,  95.1.) 

6.  7-10     (A,  11.5;  B,  19.7;  C,  31.2.) 

7.  Other  combinations.     (A,  4.9;  B,  4.9;  C,  9.8.) 

8.  Suitable  for  all  pupils  approximately  12  to  16  years  of  age. 
(A,  72.1;  B,  18.0;  C,  90.1.) 

Seeking 

9.  to  retain  pupils  longer  in  school,  (A,  72.1;  B,  23.0;  C,  95.1.) 

10.  to  provide  curricula  of  a  vocational  character  for  pupils  who 
will  assuredly  leave  school  early,  (A,  59.0;  B,  31.1;  C,  90.1.) 

11.  to  provide  a  more  gradual  transition  to  higher  schools,  (A, 
78.7;  B,  14.8;  C,  93.5.) 

12.  to  accelerate  in  varying  degrees  all  pupils  who  will  continue 
in  school,  (A,  67.2;  B,  29.5;  C,  96.7.) 

13.  to  explore  pupils'  interests,  (A,  80.3;  B,  16.4;  C,  96.7.) 

14.  to  explore  pupils'  aptitudes,  (A,  83.6;  B,  14.8;  C,  98.4.) 

15.  to  explore  pupils'  capacities;  (A,  80.3;  B,  14.8;  C,  95.1.) 

to  explore  for  the  pupil  by  means  of  material  in  itself  worth 
while: 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    55 

16.  possibilities  in  the  major  academic  subjects,   (A,  59.0;  B, 
32.8;  C,  91.8.) 

17.  possibilities  in  several  industries  of  local  importance.      (A, 
49.2;  B,  39.3;  C,  88.5.) 

Providing  for  individual  differences 

18.  by  differentiated  curricula,  (A,  77.0;  B,  19.7;  C,  96.7.) 

19.  gradually  increasing  in  differentiation,   (A,   73.8;   B,   21.3; 
C,  95.1.) 

20.  fully  differentiated  as  early  as  the  future  of  pupils  is  known 
with  reasonable  definiteness.     (A,  24.6;  B,  32.8;  C,  57.4.) 

This  approves  in  the  junior  high  school 

21.  real  vocational  training  for  pupils  who  with  their  parents' 
consent  decided  to  enter  a  trade  about  the  age  of  sixteen, 
(A,  16.4;  B,  42.6;  C,  59.0.) 

22.  earlier  direct  preparation   for   higher  education   for  pupils 
likely  to  continue  school;  (A,  41.0;  B,  41.0;  C,  82.0.) 

23.  by  the  organization  of  groups  homogeneous  in  ability.     (A, 
27.9;  B,  69.2;  C,  96.1.) 

Using  methods  of  teaching 

24.  between  those  of  the  elementary  school  and  those  of  the  high 
school,  (A,  72.1;  B,  13.2;  C,  85.3.) 

25.  including  many  projects,  (A,  59.0;  B,  31.1;  C,  90.1.) 

26.  encouraging  initiation  on  the  part  of  pupils.     (A,  75.4;  B, 
14.8;  C,  90.1.) 

Using  departmental  teaching 

27.  partial,  (A,  42.6;  B,  8.2;  C,  50.8.) 

28.  full,  (A,  29.5;  B,  23.0;  C,  52.5.) 

29.  a    gradually    increasing    amount.      (A,   45.9;   B,    19.7;   C, 
«5.6.) 

30.  Using  promotion  by  subject.     (A,  73.8;  B,  19.7;  C,  93.5.) 
Providing  curricula 

31.  enriched  beyond  those  commonly  found  for  pupils  12  to  16 
years  of  age,  (A,  85.3;  B,  11.5;  C,  96.8.) 

32.  flexible  to  suit  individual  needs.     (A,  83.6;  B,  14.8;  C,  98.4.) 
Reorganizing  courses  of  study 

so  as  to  eliminate  material  justified  for  the  most  part 

33.  only  by  traditional  practice,  (A,  80.3;  B,  18.0;  C,  98.4.) 

34.  only  by  the  logical  organization  of  subject-matter,  (A,  70.5; 
B,  23.0;  C,  93.5.) 


56  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

35.  only  by  deferred  values,  (A,  29.5;  B,  34.4;  C,  63.9.) 
So  as  to  meet  assured 

36.  immediate  needs,  (A,  50.8;  B,  27.9;  C,  78.7.) 

37.  future  needs.     (A.  47.5;  B,  32.8;  C,  80.3.) 
Providing  systematic  guidance  for  each  individual  pupil 

38.  educational,  (A,  65.6;  B,  32.8;  C,  98.4.) 

39.  personal,  (A,  68.9;  B,  27.9;  C,  96.7.) 

40.  vocational.     (A,  57.4;  B,  41.0;  C,  98.4.) 

41.  Emphasizing  extra-curriculum  activities  of  various  kinds. 
(A,  50.8;  B,  44.3;  C,  95.1.) 

42.  Granting  an  increased  amount  of  opportunity  to  pupils  for 
participation   in   the   social   administration   of   the   school. 
(A,  52.4;  B,  37.7;  C,  90.1.) 

As,  separate  items,  not  necessarily  included  under  this  head: 
In  discipline 

43.  by  some  form  of  self-government,  (A,  24.6;  B,  54.1 ;  C,  78.7.) 

44.  by  advisory  councils.     (A,  26.2;  B,  59.0;  C,  85.2.) 

From  these  data  any  one  can  make  his  own  definition  of 
what  a  junior  high  school  is  or  ought  to  be.  It  certainly 
would  be  unwise,  however,  at  this  time  to  consider  any  defi- 
nition as  more  than  tentative,  to  be  modified  as  the  needs 
of  early  adolescence  and  the  possibilities  of  the  institution 
are  more  clearly  seen. 

D.  EXTENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL  MOVEMENT 
A  question  frequently  asked  is,  How  many  junior  high 
schools  are  there?    Any  satisfactory  answer  to  this  question 
must  start  with  a  generally  accepted  definition,  and  this,  as 
we  have  already  seen,  does  not  exist.     Under  the  circum- 
stances, then,  we  can  do  no  more  than  attempt  to  ascertain 
how  many  junior  high  schools  are  reported  and  claimed  by 
those  who  reply  to  letters  of  inquiry. 
The  method  pursued  in  this  study  to  secure  an  approxi- 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    57 

mate  reply  to  the  question  was,  first,  to  collate  all  of  the 
tentative  lists  that  had  been  made  of  junior  high  schools; 
second,  to  send  this  list  to  each  State  Department  of  Educa- 
tion, with  a  request  that  it  be  supplemented;  third,  to  write 
to  each  principal  asking  if  he  considered  his  school  of  the 
new  type;  and,  fourth,  to  send  an  extended  questionnaire  to 
all  who  replied  affirmatively  to  the  first  or  to  a  follow-up  in- 
quiry, and  to  those  from  whom  no  reply  was  received.  These 
questionnaire  replies  represent  conditions  as  they  were  in 
the  spring  of  1917. 

As  might  be  expected,  a  great  deal  of  confusion  was 
caused  by  the  replies,  especially  when  they  were  supple- 
mented by  data  from  other  sources.  For  example,  one 
principal  reported  that  he  did  not  have  a  junior  high  school, 
yet  the  Assistant  Superintendent  had  two  months  previ- 
ously conducted  the  inquirer  to  the  very  school  as  an  illus- 
tration of  what  the  city  was  attempting  by  way  of  reorgan- 
izing intermediate  grade  education.  A  denial  was  received 
from  Boston,  yet  in  Superintendent  Dyer's  Annual  Report 
for  1917  appears:  "At  the  present  time  the  third  year  or 
ninth  grade  has  been  developed  and  is  in  operation  in  ten 
districts.  The  School  Committee  has  by  a  definite  order 
recognized  the  intermediate  department  as  a  part  of  the 
school  system."  The  ninth  grade  of  this  department  has  re- 
lieved the  high  schools  of  more  than  eight  hundred  pupils.  A 
number  of  places  were  recorded,  and  are  still  being  recorded 
in  reports,  as  having  junior  high  schools,  though  the  princi- 
pals do  not  themselves  make  the  claim.  Beverly  and  Med- 
ford,  Massachusetts,  come  in  this  category.  The  State  In- 
spector of  High  Schools  of  North  Dakota  records  in  his  Re- 


58  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

port  for  1917  the  following,  which  do  not  appear  in  any  gen- 
eral list  and  for  which  this  report  has  no  data:  First  Class 
Junior  High  Schools:  2,  and  4  in  part;  First  Class  Six-Six 
Plan:  3;  Second  Class  Junior  High  Schools:  1,  and  2  in  part; 
Second  Class  Six-Six  Plan:  2,  and  2  in  part;  Third  Class 
Junior  High  Schools:  2  in  part;  Third  Class  Six-Six  Plan:  1, 
and  1  in  part.  And  the  University  of  Illinois  High-School 
Visitor  records  in  his  Report  for  1917-18  the  following  ac- 
credited junior  high  schools  of  which  we  have  no  other  rec- 
ord or  from  which  no  reply  was  received:  Belleville  Town- 
ship, Chicago  (the  Lucy  Flower  Technical  School),  Dundee, 
Monmouth,  Normal,  St.  Charles,  Urbana,  and  Woodstock. 
Doubtless  there  were  also  other  junior  high  schools  of  which 
no  record  was  found. 

A  report  that  a  junior  high  school  is  at  a  place  is  fre- 
quently —  perhaps  usually  —  an  indication  that  a  reorgani- 
zation is  contemplated,  even  though  the  principal  or  super- 
intendent does  not  reply  to  inquiry  or  denies  its  existence. 
Davenport,  Iowa,  for  example,  denied  having  a  junior  high 
school  in  1917,  yet  it  had  -ist  voted  $850,000  to  build  three; 
Jackson,  Michigan,  had  none  in  1917,  yet  a  year  later  it 
opened  two  at  a  cost  of  $700,000;  Lexington,  Kentucky,  and 
East  Syracuse,  New  York,  are  other  cities  that  reorganized 
their  schools  soon  after  the  inquiry  was  finished.  A  consider- 
able number  of  places  that  denied  having  junior  high  schools 
replied  that  "one  may  be  opened  next  year." 

Critics  on  going  over  the  list  express  surprise  that  a  junior 
high  school  is  claimed  in  this  place  or  is  denied  in  that,  of 
which  they  have  personal  knowledge.  It  is  all  a  matter  of 
definition.  One  illustration  of  the  difference  in  conception 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    59 

will  suffice.  From  an  unpublished  study  by  the  Council  of 
Education  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey  are  taken  the  follow- 
ing brief  descriptions  of  two  schools,  the  former  claiming  a 
junior  high  school,  the  latter  denying  one: 

Bloomfield :  Eighth-grade  pupils  preparing  for  academic  high- 
school  courses  take  algebra  and  either  Latin  or  French.  Pupils 
preparing  for  the  commercial  course  in  the  high  school  and  those 
who  do  not  expect  to  enter  high  school  take  in  the  eighth-grade 
bookkeeping  and  a  larger  amount  of  industrial  work  (domestic  sci- 
ence for  girls  and  shop-work  for  boys)  than  do  the  other  pupils. 
In  other  subjects  the  work  is  uniform  for  all  pupils. 

Englewood :  All  seventh-  and  eighth-grade  pupils  are  brought  to- 
gether in  an  intermediate  school.  Pupils  are  divided  into  four 
groups,  each  characterized  by  an  elective  subject  or  group  of  sub- 
jects as  follows : 

Group  A  —  Latin  or  French. 
Group  B  —  Typewriting  and  extra  English. 
Group  C  —  Drawing  and  Household  Arts. 
Group  D  —  Mechanical  Drawing  and  Printing. 

Each  of  the  elective  subjects  or  group  of  subjects  occupies  four 
hours  a  week.  The  mathematics  of  Grade  8  A  for  Group  A  is 
arithmetic  and  algebra;  for  Group  B,  Commei'cial  Arithmetic  and 
the  elements  of  bookkeeping;  for  Groups  C  and  D,  practical  appli- 
cations of  arithmetic  and  accounts.  In  other  subjects  the  work  is 
identical  for  all  four  groups.  A  different  emphasis  is,  however, 
given  to  the  English  work  of  Group  A  from  that  of  the  other  three 
groups. 

Following  the  entry  of  the  United  States  into  the  World 
War  there  was  a  slowing-down  of  all  normal  progressive 
movements  in  education,  the  schools  devoting  themselves  to 
routine  work  and  without  stint  to  the  tasks  assigned  them 
by  the  Government  and  its  auxiliary  agencies.  All  building 
programs  were  held  in  abeyance  and  the  reorganization  of 
schools  almost  entirely  stopped.  But  all  the  time  plans 


60  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

were  being  made;  and  after  the  armistice  the  establishing  of 
junior  high  schools  began  again  in  earnest,  especially  in  the 
larger  cities. 

In  Table  VII  is  presented  the  number  of  junior  high 
schools  reported  in  the  several  States  up  to  March,  1917, 
with  data  returned  for  this  study  as  to  the  number  claiming 
reorganization,  filling  out  questionnaires,  and  not  replying. 
There  is  also  included  the  distribution  of  293  junior  high 
schools  reporting  in  1918  to  Davis  from  the  seventeen  States 
in  the  territory  of  the  North  Central  Association  of  Colleges 
and  Secondary  Schools.  The  differences  between  the  two 
returns  will  emphasize  the  difficulty  of  ascertaining  the 
number  of  schools  that  have  at  any  time  been  reorganized. 

Up  to  the  spring  of  1917,  800  junior  high  schools  had  been 
reported;  of  these  292  filled  and  returned  questionnaires, 
and  85  more  claimed  to  be  junior  high  schools,  but  made  no 
detailed  returns  of  data.  In  all,  then,  there  were  377  schools 
that  claimed  to  have  effected  reorganization.  To  this  total 
there  should,  of  course,  be  added  such  schools  as  were  men- 
tioned above  (pages  57-59),  and  a  number,  on  doubt,  from 
those  that  were  listed,  but  made  no  reply  to  one  or  more  in- 
quiries. With  the  estimated  increase  since  1917  it  is  proba- 
bly well  within  the  facts  to  say  that  there  are  to-day  upwards 
of  eight  hundred  junior  high  schools  in  the  United  States. 
The  only  section  of  the  country  that  has  been  unresponsive 
to  the  movement  is  the  South,  from  North  Carolina  to  Lou- 
isiana, and  a  few  States  in  the  Far  West.  So  rapid  a  growth 
of  a  new  educational  institution  or  of  a  marked  modification 
in  an  old  one  is  unparalleled  in  our  history. 

The  profession  by  so  large  a  number  of  principals  and 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    61 


TABLE  VII 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  REPORTED, 
CLAIMED,  RETURNING  QUESTIONNAIRES,  AND  DENYING  REOR- 
GANIZATION 


States 

Number  of 
junior  high 
schools  re- 
ported in 
1917 

Number 
claiming 
reorgani- 
zation 

Number 
returning 
question- 
naires 

Number 
denying 
reorgani- 
zation 

Number 
reporting 
to  Davis 
in  1918 

Alabama     

2 

3 

3 

8 

4 

3 

1 

California  

51 

31 

25 

9 

Colorado  

11 

6 

5 

1 

9 

7 

4 

4 

1 

Delaware  

0 

Florida  

3 

Georgia    

4 

Idaho       

10 

3 

3 

2 

Illinois  

29 

10 

10 

4 

15 

Indiana     

46 

21 

20 

11 

33 

Iowa          

40 

8 

8 

11 

16 

Kansas       

29 

9 

7 

8 

28 

Kentucky  

7 

4 

3 

1 

Louisiana  

1 

6 

3 

3 

2 

Maryland  

3 

2 

Massachusetts.  .  .  . 

79 
30 

47 
16 

22 
12 

14 

4 

43 

Minnesota   

34 

22 

15 

2 

32 

2 

Missouri      

21 

5 

4 

3 

4 

Montana     

4 

1 

1 

2 

17 

12 

8 

1 

26 

0 

New  Hampshire  .  . 
New  Jersey   

16 
14 

14 
6 

12 
6 

1 
5 

New  Mexico  
New  York       .... 

0 

47 

28 

14 

3 

3 

North  Carolina.  .  . 
North  Dakota  
Ohio     

3 
29 

34 

10 

22 

io 

21 

1 

7 
3 

i? 

29 

THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 
TABLE  VII  (continued) 


States 

Number  of 
junior  high 
schools  re- 
ported in 
1917 

Number 
claiming 
reorgani- 
zation 

Number 
returning 
question- 
naires 

Number 
denying 
reorgani- 
zation 

Number 
reporting 
to  Davis 
in  1918 

Oklahoma  

25 

8 

7 

2 

8 

Oregon  

13 

11 

10 

Pennsylvania.  .  .  . 
Rhode  Island.  .  .    . 

34 
6 

14 
1 

9 
1 

8 
3 

South  Carolina  .  .  . 
South  Dakota  .... 
Tennessee  

1 
13 

8 

3 

2 

i 

2 

-6 
1 

7 

Texas  

10 

4 

3 

4 

Utah  

31 

16 

12 

Vermont  

17 

12 

12 

4 

Virginia  

6 

4 

4 

1 

Washington  .  . 

6 

4 

4 

1 

West  Virginia  .... 
Wisconsin  

7 
17 

3 
6 

3 
6 

2 
3 

17 

Wyoming  

7 

3 

2 

1 

3 

Totals 

791 

377 

292 

135 

293 

superintendents  that  they  have  reorganized  their  schools  is 
important  as  indicating  a  change  in  conceptions  of  American 
secondary  education;  and  even  when  the  actual  changes  are 
small,  it  is  of  importance  as  revealing  the  dissatisfaction 
with  existing  organization,  subject-matter,  and  methods, 
and  a  perception  of  an  ideal  that  is  better.  That  this  dis- 
satisfaction exists  and  that  the  ideal  is  often  dim  invite 
leadership  to  direct  the  spirit  into  concrete  realization. 

Junior  high  schools,  so  far  as  reported,  ranged  in  size  from 
23  to  2465  pupils.  The  259  that  gave  the  total  enrollment 
for  1916-17  had  the  distribution  shown  in  Table  VIII. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    63 

TABLE  VIII 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  ENROLLMENTS  OF  259  JUNIOR 
HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  ALL  COMBINATIONS  OF  GRADES 

Size  Number  Size               Number 

10-100  57  801-  900  4 

101-200  61  901-1000  5 

201-300  38  1001-1100  1 

301-400  32  1101-1200  2 

401-500  23  1201-1300  4 

501-600  14  1301-1400  0 

601-700  7  1401-1500  1 

701-800  .         9  2001-2500  1 

Median  —  232  pupils 

Inasmuch  as  these  259  schools  had  almost  all  combina- 
tions of  grades  (7-9,  7-8,  6-8,  etc.)  another  distribution  is 
shown  in  Table  IX  of  the  157  schools  having  grades  7-8-9. 

TABLE  IX 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  ENROLLMENTS  OF  167  JUNIOR 
HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  GRADES  7,  8,  AND  9 

Size               Number  Size  Number 

23-  25                  1  501-  600  10 

26-  50                  9  601-  700  15 

51-  75                12  701-  800  8 

76-100                11  801-  900  4 

101-150                19  901-1000  4 

151-200                15  1001-1100  2 

201-250                12  1101-1200  1 

251-300                11  1201-1300  2 

301-400                14  1501-1600  1 

401-500                15  2465  1 

Median  —  248 

First  Quartile  — 116 

Third  Quartile  — 496 

The  median  enrollment  of  these  167  schools  was  248  pu- 
pils. Three  fourths  of  them  had  more  than  116  pupils,  and 
one  fourth  had  more  than  496.  If  we  assume  that  there 
were  500  junior  high  schools  in  1917  and  that  these  167 


64  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

were  typical  as  to  size,  we  can  estimate  the  total  number  of 
pupils  as  approximately  125,000.  The  average  number  of 
pupils  in  259  schools  having  grades  7-8  or  7-8-9  was  218,  as 
compared  with  an  average  of  168  for  the  293  schools  listed  by 
Davis  in  the  North  Central  territory. 

Distributing  the  pupils  by  grades,  we  find  that  there  were 
20,916  in  the  seventh;  19,711  in  the  eighth;  and  16,026  in  the 
ninth.  The  averages  are  133.2,  125.5,  and  112.1  for  the  re- 
spective grades.  One  cannot  estimate  from  these  figures  the 
holding  power  of  the  junior  high  schools,  for  not  only  is  the 
number  of  entering  pupils  growing  each  year,  but  many 
schools  for  one  reason  or  another  transfer  pupils  to  or  from 
the  junior  high  school  in  the  eighth  or  ninth  grade. 

For  the  schools  reporting,  the  average  percentage  of  boys 
to  the  total  enrollment  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth 
grades  respectively  was  48.7,  48.4,  and  46.6.  Fifty  per  cent 
of  the  schools  had  in  the  seventh  grade  a  range  of  45.5  to 
52.7  per  cent  of  boys;  in  the  eighth,  a  range  of  44.5  to  51.9; 
and  in  the  ninth,  a  range  of  41.9  to  51.2.  Davis  found 
the  percentage  of  boys  among  21,658  pupils  in  the  North 
Central  territory  to  be  43.9. 


CHAPTER  III 
CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS 

A.  CLAIMS  FOR  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 
THE  claims  which  have  in  various  places  been  made  for 
the  junior  high  school  are  numerous  and  attractive.  When  a 
critic  realizes,  however,  that  they  are  based  on  several  dif- 
ferent conceptions,  he  is  prepared  for  disappointment  as  to 
the  achievements  by  any  single  school,  and  he  is  led  to  con- 
sider the  claims  as  an  expression  of  educational  ideals.  In  so 
far  as  the  function  implied  by  each  claim  is  worth  the  ex- 
penditure that  it  will  require  of  invention,  effort,  and  money, 
it  is  likely  to  influence  the  future  development  of  inter- 
mediate schools.  Generally  speaking,  the  claims  are  a 
reversal  of  the  criticisms  made  of  the  eight-four  organi- 
zation; but  for  convenience  it  has  been  thought  wise  to  col- 
lect, organize,  and  present  all  the  major  claims  that  have 
been  made. 

When  collated,  the  claims  seem  to  be  (I)  that  the  new 
organization  will  bring  about  certain  administrative  ad- 
vantages; (II)  that  it  will  produce  better  curricula  and 
courses  of  study;  (III)  that  it  will  find  or  develop  better 
teachers  and  therefore  secure  better  teaching;  (IV)  that  it 
will  provide  more  fittingly  for  the  needs  of  pupils  due  to 
individual  differences;  and  (V)  that  these  provisions  will 
in  turn  retain  pupils  longer  in  school,  facilitate  their  tran- 
sition to  higher  schools,  save  time  for  them,  and  result  in  a 
more  effective  training  in  character. 


66  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

These  claims  will  now  be  presented  in  more  detail,  each 
followed  by  brief  comment. 

Claim  I.  The  junior  high  school  will  make  possible  cer- 
tain administrative  advantages.  These  are: 

a.  Classes  of  approximately  normal  size; 

b.  A  more  nearly  complete  use  of  the  school  plant; 

c.  The  full  use,  for  at  least  a  day  at  a  time  in  one  building, 
of  special  teachers  and  supervisors,  thus  preventing 
the  loss  due  to  traveling  from  one  school  to  another; 

d.  The  offering  of  differentiated  curricula; 

e.  Departmental  teaching; 
/.  Promotion  by  subject. 

It  is  obvious  that  the  details  of  this  general  claim  apply 
only  to  a  centralized  school  containing  enough  pupils  to  make 
one  or  more  full-sized  classes  for  each  half-year  grade.  Ref- 
erence to  page  8  will  show  how  a  centralized  school  would 
make  possible  all  of  the  six  details;  but  sometimes,  as  in 
Kalamazoo,  the  establishing  of  junior  high  schools  does 
not  necessarily  result  in  the  congregation,  even  in  a  city  of 
considerable  size,  of  enough  pupils  to  make  the  enumerated 
details  economical.  The  desirability  of  the  first  three  de- 
tails is  assumed;  that  of  the  last  three  is  discussed  else- 
where.1 

If  pupils  are  distributed  according  to  the  data  given  for 
1916-17  2  there  will  be  approximately  the  number  for 
each  grade  in  junior  high  schools  of  various  sizes  as  shown 
in  Table  X. 

1  Seepages  127  ff.,  139  ff.,  155  S. 

2  Report  of  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  for  1917,  vol.  n, 
p.  24. 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS 


67 


TABLE  X 

SHOWING  DISTRIBUTION  OF  PUPILS  IN  GRADES  7,  8,  9  FOR 
JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  VARIOUS  SIZES 


Grades 

Total 
enrollment 

Number  of  pupils 
in  each  grade 

Approximate  number  of 
classes  of  35  pupils 

7 

132 

4 

8 

303 

111 

3 

9 

60 

2 

9 

7 

220 

6 

8 

500 

185 

5 

9 

95 

3 

14 

7 

308 

9 

8 

700 

259 

7 

9 

133 

4 

20 

7 

528 

15 

8 

1200 

444 

13 

9 

228 

6 

34 

7 

660 

19 

8 

1500 

555 

16 

9 

285 

8 

43 

While  the  distribution  will  vary  widely  with  the  locality, 
one  may  estimate  roughly  from  this  table  the  number  of 
classes  that  may  at  the  beginning  be  expected  in  each  grade. 


68  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

If  the  junior  high  school  increases  the  per  cent  of  retention, 
as  it  is  said  to  do,  of  course  the  numbers  in  the  upper  grades 
will  be  larger. 

Claim  II.  The  junior  high  school  will  make  easier  desired 
reforms  in  curricula,  courses  of  study,  and  extra-curricula 
activities. 

To  an  extent  this  claim  is  undoubtedly  true,  for  it  is 
characteristic  of  human  nature  to  defer  several  desired 
changes  until  they  may  all  be  attempted  together.  Just  as 
moving  to  a  new  house  often  gives  the  necessary  stimulus 
for  the  purchase  of  some  long-needed  article  of  furniture 
and  the  rearrangement  of  old  ones,  so  the  administrative 
change  to  a  new  type  of  organization  facilitates  the  remaking 
of  educational  offerings.  There  is  frequent  testimony  that 
parents,  teachers,  and  pupils  have  accepted  as  a  matter  of 
course  in  junior  high  schools  changes  which  because  of  pro- 
tests had  to  be  abandoned  when  attempted  in  the  grammar 
grades. 

Although  desired  reforms  are  by  the  new  organization 
made  easier,  it  does  not  at  all  follow  that  they  will  auto- 
matically or  inevitably  result.  Until  the  purposes  of  a 
junior  high  school  are  clearly  and  definitely  formulated, 
changes  of  curricula,  if  made  at  all,  will  be  of  uncertain 
value,  courses  of  study  will  continue  much  as  in  the  past, 
and  extra-curricula  activities  will  be  more  or  less  fortuitous. 
But  although  there  are  several  contending  purposes  for  the 
new  type  of  school,  many  evidences  of  modified  subject- 
matter  are  seen;  the  junior  high  school  is  unquestionably 
facilitating  reform  in  this  field.  Fortunately  it  is  proving 
as  effective  in  the  small  town  or  rural  district  as  in  the  cities. 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  69 

Claim  III.  The  junior  high  school  will  find  or  develop 
better  teachers  and  therefore  secure  better  teaching. 

There  is  no  inherent  reason  why  this  claim  should  be 
justified;  but  in  practice  it  for  several  reasons  usually  is. 
There  is  a  clearly  recognized  ambition  among  teachers  to 
prefer  teaching  higher  grades  of  work  —  an  ambition  that 
has  been  fostered  by  the  practice  in  many  places  of  paying 
larger  salaries  as  the  work  advances  and  by  an  augmented 
social  recognition  for  advanced  teaching.  As  the  salary  of 
junior  high  schools  is  generally  somewhat  above  that  of  the 
grammar  grades,  superintendents  have  seized  the  opportu- 
nity to  reward  by  promotion  unusually  skilled  and  ambi- 
tious teachers  in  the  grades.  The  salary,  the  prestige  of 
the  name  "  high  school  "  even  with  "  junior  "  prefixed,  and 
the  demands  of  industrial  subjects,  too,  have  resulted  in  an 
increased  number  of  men  teachers  for  early  adolescents. 
This  result  tends  to  satisfy  those  who  believe  that  children 
at  this  age  should  come  under  the  influences  of  teachers  of 
both  sexes. 

Again,  novelty  of  organization  facilitates  the  introduction 
of  new  and  better  types  of  teaching;  teachers  are  more  will- 
ing to  attempt  in  the  junior  high  schools  methods  which 
supported  by  convincing  theory  are  difficult  in  older  organ- 
izations because  of  other  traditions.  Observation  of  a 
number  of  junior  high  schools  shows  a  spirit  of  receptivity 
to  new  methods  that  is  most  encouraging.  Results  in 
both  small  and  large  schools  will  depend,  of  course,  on 
the  clearness  with  which  methods  suited  to  definite  pur- 
poses are  conceived  and  presented  to  the  teachers  and  on 
the  consistency  of  skillful  supervision. 


70  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Claim  IV.  The  junior  high  school  will  provide  better 
for  the  needs  of  pupils  due  to  individual  differences: 

a.  Of  ability; 

b.  Of  prospective  career: 

1.  educational, 

2.  vocational; 

c.  Of  sex. 

This  claim  is  based  on  a  recognition  of  widespread  indi- 
vidual differences  of  ability  and  on  an  assumption  that  at 
this  age  some  work  differentiated  in  kind  or  in  amount  should 
be  offered  because  of  these  differences  in  ability,  prospective 
career,  and  sex.  As  already  shown,  there  is  some  objection 
to  curricula  in  the  junior  high  school  differentiated  on  the 
basis  of  future  career;  differentiation  on  the  basis  of  ability 
and  sex  is  more  generally  approved,  though  seldom  pro- 
vided. To  make  any  differentiation  possible,  it  is  neces- 
sary to  have  enough  pupils  congregated  to  fill  two  or  more 
classes  for  each  grade;  to  make  it  profitable,  there  must 
again  be  definiteness  of  purpose,  a  more  or  less  reformu- 
lated program  for  organization,  subject-matter,  and  methods 
of  teaching,  and  teachers  who  are  both  sympathetic  with 
the  plan  and  able.  Individual  differences  in  early  adoles- 
cents are  to  an  extent  being  provided  for  in  other  types  of 
schools;  but  as  the  junior  high  school  has  been  established 
largely  because  of  a  recognition  of  such  differences  and  of 
their  several  demands,  it  probably  concentrates  more  of  its 
efforts  on  making  satisfactory  provisions  than  other  types 
do.  Certainly  it  so  far  has  no  traditions  to  make  such  pro- 
visions difficult. 

Claim  V.  The  junior  high  school  will,  by  its  various  pro- 
visions, 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  71 

(a)  increase  the  persistence  of  pupils  in  school; 

(6)  facilitate  the  transition  of  pupils  to  higher  schools 

(1)  by  destroying  the  sharp  break  between  ele- 
mentary and  secondary  education; 

(2)  by  removing  the  change  to  a  higher  school  from 
the  period  at  which  the  age  of  compulsory  edu- 
cation for  most  pupils  terminates,  and 

(3)  by  a  saving  of  time  for  all  pupils; 

(c)  better  develop  the  character  of  individual  pupils. 

The  validity  of  this  claim  depends,  of  course,  on  the  ex- 
tent to  which  the  junior  high  school  has  provided  adequate 
machinery  for  achieving  the  other  claims  made  for  it.  If 
it  has  so  reformed  its  organization  that  the  government 
and  atmosphere  are  congenial  to  early  adolescents,  and  the 
content  of  its  courses  and  methods  of  teaching  so  that  both 
pupils  and  parents  are  convinced  of  the  worth  of  its  instruc- 
tion, there  is  every  reason  to  expect  an  improvement  in  per- 
sistence. It  has  recently  been  shown  J  that  inability  to  do 
high-school  work  is  not  the  primary  cause  of  elimination. 
Certainly  an  institution  which  pupils  enter  before  the  law 
permits  them  to  go  to  work  and  which  offers  no  convenient 
stopping-point  until  the  subjects  of  secondary  education  have 
been  explored  and  have  had  a  chance  to  make  their  appeal, 
an  institution  which  provides  in  several  ways  for  individual 
differences,  and  which  affords  attractive  and  profitable  extra- 
curricula  activities,  is  likely  to  hold  pupils  longer  than  one 
that  does  none  of  these  things. 

If  the  junior  high  school  has  provided  a  gradual  transi- 

1  O'Brien:  A  Study  of  High-School  Failures.  Teachers  College  Con- 
tributions to  Education,  No.  102. 


72  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

tion  in  subject-matter,  in  types  of  teaching,  and  in  general 
atmosphere,  and  if  by  exploration  and  guidance  it  furnishes 
information  concerning  advanced  work  and  its  worth,  it  is 
likely  to  facilitate  transfer  to  higher  schools.  The  saving 
of  time  depends  to  a  large  extent  on  the  conception  adopted 
for  the  school  and  on  the  homogeneous  grouping  of  pupils 
)f  superior  ability  with  encouragement  for  them  to  proceed 
as  fast  as  they  may  with  profit.  If  by  any  means  pupils 
are  retained  longer,  the  school  has  greater  opportunity  by 
all  its  resources  to  develop  the  character  of  each  individual. 
It  is  asserted  that  more  can  be  done  toward  achieving  this 
end  by  extra-curricula  than  by  any  other  activities. 

The  details  of  this  general  claim  must  ultimately  be  judged 
by  results;  thus  far,  established  junior  high  schools  are 
too  various  and  on  the  whole  too  young  to  furnish  con- 
vincing data.  Theoretically  the  claim  should  be  measur- 
ably substantiated  in  schools  both  small  and  large. 

B.  OBJECTIONS  TO  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 
It  is  not  surprising  that  proposals  for  so  radical  a  change 
in  an  established  system  as  that  of  introducing  an  inter- 
mediate school  should  result  in  many  objections,  especially 
since  the  new  institution  has  been  variously  conceived  and 
since  it  has  often  been  extravagantly  advocated  as  a  sure 
cure  for  all  educational  ills.  The  wonder  is  that  objections 
should  have  been  so  little  urged.  Perhaps  sharper  and  more 
insistent  criticism  would  have  effected  greater  definiteness 
in  planning  and  more  material  changes  in  organization. 

For  this  report  a  summary  of  all  objections  was  made, 
based  on  a  comprehensive  review  of  educational  magazines, 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  73 

on  notes  recorded  after  many  visits  and  conversations,  and 
on  reports  from  numerous  correspondents.  It  is  not  thought 
necessary,  however,  to  present  with  comment  such  an  expres- 
sion of  judgment  as  that  "  the  arguments  for  a  junior  high 
school  are  unconvincing,"  such  an  expression  of  dim  vision 
as  that  "  the  results  of  reorganization  are  not  likely  to  be 
worth  the  fight  against  the  induration  of  the  public  and 
schoolmen  alike,"  such  indefinite  statements  as  that  "six 
years  for  secondary  education  seems  too  long,"  or  such  de- 
tails as  are  not  peculiar  to  the  new  type  of  school.  The 
other  objections  are  given  with  brief  explanation  and  com- 
ment, facts  regarding  practice  being  reserved  for  later 
chapters. 

Objection  I.    The  junior-high-school  program  is  indefinite. 

For  schools  by  and  large  this  objection  must  be  im- 
mediately admitted.  The  claims  set  forth  have  shown 
great  enthusiasm  as  educators  have  glimpsed  the  possibility 
of  breaking  from  tradition  and  of  trying-out  their  ideas  of 
what  ought  to  be;  but  these  visions  have  frequently  con- 
cerned only  phases  of  the  problem  and  too  often  have 
directly  contradicted  each  other,  not  only  in  details,  but 
also  in  fundamental  principles.  Perhaps  it  is  only  by  mul- 
tifarious "  groping,  testing,  passing  on  "  that  we  may  ex- 
pect advance.  But  certainly  to  make  any  advance  economi- 
cally it  is  necessary  to  prepare  beforehand  a  definite  program 
soundly  based  on  clearly  formulated  principles. 

Objection  II.  Criticisms  are  for  the  most  part  of  defects 
that  can  be  remedied  in  the  present  organization. 

This  objection,  too,  must  be  generally  admitted.  There 
are  few,  if  any,  details  in  all  the  junior  high  schools  that 


74  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

may  not  be  found  somewhere  in  the  most  progressive  ele- 
mentary schools. "  But  there  can  be  little  question  that  as 
a  class  the  junior  high  schools  are  showing  more  activity  in 
seeking  changes  than  are  the  conventional  schools,  and  that 
when  progressive  they  are  likely  to  attempt  more  of  the  re- 
forms that  are  recognized  as  desirable.  Those  who  for  any 
reason  object  to  the  junior  high  school  have  one  sure  means 
of  preventing  its  establishment  —  that  is,  by  introducing 
into  the  common  system  the  features  the  promise  of  which 
has  given  impetus  and  popularity  to  the  movement  for 
reorganization.  In  further  rebuttal  of  this  objection  it  is 
argued  that  the  change  in  administrative  unit  makes  other 
changes  easier.  The  testimony  on  this  point  is  so  strong  as 
to  be  convincing.  As  neither  teachers  nor  parents  have  any 
traditions  regarding  the  junior  high  school,  they  accept  with 
a  minimum  of  protest  details  of  any  reasonable  program. 

The  remaining  objections  may  be  grouped  under  three 
heads:  objections  certain  to  be  remedied  in  time;  objections 
in  part  or  wholly  remediable  by  good  administration;  and 
objections  to  fundamental  matters.  The  following  five  ob- 
jections concern  conditions  that  are  likely  to  be  remedied 
in  time. 

Objection  HI.  State  laws  make  the  establishment  of 
junior  high  schools  difficult  if  not  impossible. 

In  a  number  of  States  laws  that  were  formulated  when  the 
ideal  was  an  eight-year  elementary  school  followed  by  four 
years  of  a  high  school  very  naturally  make  difficult  any  ma- 
terial modification  of  the  educational  program.  These  laws 
concern  the  definition  of  schools,  the  distribution  of  school 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  75 

funds,  uniform  curricula  or  courses  of  study,  uniform  text- 
books, the  certification  of  teachers,  required  records  and 
reports,  and  compulsory  attendance. 

The  definition  of  elementary  schools  or  of  high  schools  is 
frequently  important  because  of  statutes  referring  to  the 
institutions  defined  and  because  of  the  restrictions  on  prac- 
tice sometimes  contained  in  the  definition.  The  Indiana 
Revised  Statutes,1  for  example,  declare  that 

the  elementary  schools  shall  include  the  first  eight  (8)  years  of 
school  work,  and  the  course  of  study  for  such  years  which  is  now 
prescribed  or  may  hereafter  be  prescribed  by  law.  The  commis- 
sioned high  schools  shall  include  not  less  than  four  (4)  years'  work 
following  the  eight  years  in  the  elementary  school. 

Despite  this  statute,  however,  there  are  in  Indiana  several 
well-developed  junior  high  schools.  In  California  likewise 
a  number  of  progressive  junior  high  schools  developed  under 
the  handicap  of  the  law,  which  was  amended  in  1915  as 
follows: 2 

The  high-school  board  of  any  high-school  district  or  the  trustees 
of  any  high  school  may  prescribe  intermediate-school  courses  and 
admit  thereto  pupils  who  have  completed  the  sixth  year  of  the 
elementary  school.  .  .  .  The  first  two  years  of  the  intermediate- 
school  course  shall  include  instruction  in  the  school  studies  gen- 
erally taught  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  of  the  elementary 
schools,  and  may  include  such  other  studies  including  secondary, 
vocational,  and  industrial  subjects,  as  said  high-school  board  may 
prescribe. 

In  Vermont,  too,  in  order  that  the  program  recommended 
by  the  educational  survey  might  be  adopted,  the  legislature 
in  1915  3  passed  amendments  to  the  State  school  laws  per- 

1  Section  6583.      J  Section'1750.      *  Vermont  School  Laws,  1915,  p.  39. 


76  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

mitting  the  State  Board  of  Education,  "  with  the  approval 
of  the  school  directors  in  the  towns  concerned,"  to  divide 
secondary  schools  into  two  classes:  (a)  junior  high  schools, 
having  a  four-year  course,  grades  7  to  10,  and  (6)  senior 
high  schools,  having  a  six-year  course,  grades  7  to  12.  The 
courses  are  to  be 

flexible  in  character,  designed  for  the  instruction  of  pupils  who 
have  completed  an  elementary  course  of  not  less  than  six  years, 
and  suitable  to  the  number  and  needs  of  local  pupils;  and  the 
State  Board  of  Education  shall  arrange  for  a  course  of  study,  in- 
cluding vocational  opportunities  appropriate  to  the  needs  of  pupils 
in  the  several  communities.  In  any  town  where  a  junior  high  school 
is  established  the  State  Board  of  Education  shall  make  the  neces- 
sary readjustment  of  the  course  of  study  in  the  elementary  school. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  obstacles  impeding  the  establish- 
ment of  junior  high  schools,  the  old  law  in  New  Jersey  may 
be  cited.  Under  it  municipalities  received  from  the  State 
$200  for  each  elementary  teacher  employed  and  $400  for 
each  high-school  teacher  providing  that  he  taught  no  class 
below  the  ninth  grade.  Thus  a  municipality  would  lose  one 
half  the  apportionment  by  the  State  for  each  high-school 
licentiate  who  taught  any  class  in  grade  seven  or  eight  and 
would  gain  nothing  for  each  lower-school  teacher  who  gave 
instruction  to  the  ninth  grade.  The  law  was  amended  in 
1916  so  that  certain  cities  would  receive  from  the  State 
$315  for  each  junior-high-school  teacher. 

In  States  which  prescribe  by  statute  the  subjects  that 
may  be  taught  in  the  first  eight  grades  and  which  support 
the  curriculum  by  the  adoption  of  textbooks  for  uniform  use 
in  every  school,  reform  in  the  intermediate  grades  would 
seem  to  be  impossible.  But  there  are  numerous  instances 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  77 

of  the  development  in  such  States  of  junior  high  schools, 
either  because  some  flaw  was  found  in  the  statutes  or  be- 
cause an  evasion  was  approved  or  permitted  by  the  authori- 
ties. Laws  designed  for  different  conditions  frequently  pre- 
scribe separate  examinations  for  license  to  teach  in  the  first 
eight  grades  and  in  the  high  school ;  and  the  superior  license 
does  not  include  the  other.  This  situation  creates  a  real 
obstacle,  but  not  an  insuperable  one,  since  a  teacher  ambi- 
tious to  teach  in  a  three-year  junior  high  school  may  take 
both  examinations.  The  laws  requiring  uniform  records 
and  reports  also  place  added  labor  on  junior-high-school 
administrators. 

The  Minnesota  law  provides  for  releasing  from  school 
attendance  children  who  are  fourteen  years  of  age  if  they 
have  completed  the  common  branches,  or  the  eighth  grade. 

The  proposed  plan  of  regrouping  .  .  would  make  this  provision 
of  the  law  a  misfit.  If  it  is  to  serve  a  useful  end,  the  law  should  be 
so  changed  as  to  encourage  its  completion  by  all  pupils  under 
sixteen  years  of  age.1 

Other  laws  concerning  this  compulsory  attendance,  as  in 
Ohio  and  New  York,  are  similarly  based  on  the  old  organiza- 
tion of  an  eight-year  elementary  school.  But  there  is  no 
reason  to  believe  that  the  States  will  long  hesitate  to  make 
any  such  changes  in  their  laws  as  a  convincing  program  for 
educational  advance  may  necessitate. 

Objection  IV.    There  is  a  lack  of  suitable  text-books. 

This  objection  is  still  valid,  though  publishers  are  now 
producing  a  number  of  texts  especially  designed  for  junior 
high-school  use.  Whether  they  prove  suitable  or  not  will 
*  Bulletin  39,  Minnesota  State  Department  of  Education, 


78  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

appear  only  after  they  are  given  extended  trial.  Like  the 
texts  prepared  for  other  schools,  they  reflect  the  personal 
opinions  of  individual  authors  as  to  what  should  be  taught, 
opinions  modified  by  what  seems  to  be  the  demand  of  the 
schools.  It  is  unfortunate  that  there  do  not  exist  clearly 
formulated  criteria  for  judging  texts,  for  they  probably  do 
more,  the  country  over,  to  influence  educational  practice 
than  does  any  other  one  factor.  The  lack  of  texts  is  being 
remedied;  whether  the  new  books  will  be  suitable  or  not 
depends  to  a  large  extent  on  the  ability  of  their  authors  to 
recognize  fundamental  purposes  of  the  junior  high  school 
and  their  willingness  to  follow  declared  purposes  even  to  the 
extent  of  breaking  with  tradition.  Several  of  the  books  pre- 
pared for  junior  high  schools  manifest  many  novel  and  com- 
mendable features,  showing  far  more  independence  than  do 
similar  texts  for  the  traditional  senior  high  school. 

Objection  V.    There  is  a  lack  of  suitable  teachers. 

If  this  objection  means  that  there  is  an  insufficient  supply 
of  teachers  fully  informed  of  the  purposes  of  the  junior  high 
school  and  adequately  trained  sympathetically  to  carry  out 
those  purposes  in  practice,  it  must  unquestionably  be  sus- 
tained. But  as  is  pointed  out  elsewhere,  superintendents  are 
very  generally  rewarding  their  successful  and  ambitious 
teachers  by  placing  them  in  the  junior  high  school,  fre- 
quently with  an  increase  of  salary  or  with  more  agreeable 
conditions  for  work.  Whether  or  not  these  teachers  and 
the  younger  ones  who  have  sought  special  training  for  their 
tasks  in  normal  schools  and  colleges  become  satisfactory 
depends  very  largely  on  the  clearness  with  which  their 
principal  perceives  the  purposes  of  the  schools  and  the 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  79 

assiduity  with  which  by  supervision  he  modifies  their  prac- 
tice to  secure  the  desired  ends. 

Objection  VI.  There  is  a  lack  of  proper  buildings  and 
equipment. 

What  a  proper  building  and  equipment  are  for  a  junior 
high  school  will  be  determined  very  largely  by  the  educa- 
tional purpose  for  which  it  is  established.  If  the  school  is 
to  differ  materially  from  the  higher  elementary  school,  it  is 
not  likely  to  find  ready  and  open  for  occupancy  an  equipped 
building  suitable  for  its  work.  The  attractiveness  of  its 
program  is  quite  as  likely,  as  the  popular  conception  of  a 
city's  financial  status,  to  determine  whether  or  not  such 
a  building  can  be  secured.  Facts  as  to  buildings  and 
grounds  actually  in  use  will  be  presented  in  chapter  xi. 
It  is  pertinent  to  commend  here  the  program  followed  at 
Beverly,  Massachusetts,  where  the  superintendent,  in  con- 
ference with  the  State  Department  of  Education,  first 
formulated  the  curricula  for  the  junior  high  school  and 
then  had  drawn  plans  for  an  adequate  building  in  which 
to  present  the  necessary  courses.  This  seems  such  a 
reasonable  procedure  that  one  wonders  that  it  is  not  uni- 
versal. But  in  order  to  secure  some  educational  progress, 
many  compromises  have  been  made  the  country  over  as 
to  mechanical  matters.  The  generosity  of  the  public  in 
providing  high-school  buildings  and  equipment  during  the 
past  two  decades  does  not  make  this  objection  promise  to 
be  insuperable. 

Objection  VII.  There  is  much  opposition  from  elemen- 
tary-school principals  and  teachers  who  feel  slighted  by  not 
being  taken  into  the  junior  high  school. 


80  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

The  extent  to  which  this  objection  is  true  is  difficult  to  as- 
certain, for  it  is  not  as  a  rule  openly  given  as  the  cause  for 
opposition.  But  it  has  had  its  effect,  nevertheless,  in  subtly 
blocking  numerous  programs  for  reorganization.  Although 
it  is  only  human  for  one  to  feel  a  keen  sting  at  not  being 
chosen  for  some  coveted  post,  the  criterion  in  every  case 
should  be  the  interests  of  the  pupils  and  the  public  rather 
than  the  feelings  of  some  teachers  and  principals.  To  off- 
set such  feeling  as  may  result,  feeling  that  must  by  the  very 
nature  of  things  be  temporary,  is  the  stimulus  given  to  those 
who,  because  of  ambition,  ability,  and  industry,  are  chosen 
to  conduct  the  experiment.  Du  Shane  points  out  that  there 
will  remain  yeoman  work  to  do  in  the  abbreviated  elemen- 
tary school,  especially  in  the  last  three  grades,  partly  because 
the  lower  school  will  need  material  modification  in  fully 
performing  its  work,  and  partly  because  grades  4  to  6 

have  not  been  adequately  organized  in  times  past.  The  teachers 
in  these  grades  have  been  the  new  and  inexperienced  teachers  of 
the  system,  as  contrasted  with  the  primary  teachers  on  the  one 
hand  and  the  upper-grade  teachers  on  the  other.  Non-promotions 
have  been  high.  Drill  has  been  regarded  as  the  chief  function  of 
the  grades,  while  the  heavy  withdrawal  of  pupils  has  given  clear 
evidence  that  the  pupils  need  something  that  is  vital  and  attrac- 
tive. Let  elementary  principals  attack  these  problems  and  they 
will  not  miss  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades. 

The  two  following  objections,  in  so  far  as  they  are  valid, 
are  wholly  or  in  part  remediable  by  good  administration. 

Objection  VIII.  Departmental  teaching  is  bad  for  pupils 
of  the  immaturity  found  in  junior  high  schools. 

Here  a  real  issue  is  joined.  The  arguments  for  and  against 
Departmental  teaching  are  numerous,  but  unfortunately 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  81 

there  are  few  or  no  data  as  to  results  that  warrant  an  ab- 
solute answer  concerning  its  value.  That  the  judgment  of 
schoolmen  is  strongly  in  its  favor  is  evidenced  by  its  all  but 
universal  use  in  high  schools  and  by  its  extension  down- 
ward into  the  lower  grades.  There  is  so  much  variation 
in  opinion  as  to  when  and  to  what  extent  it  should  be  intro- 
duced that  he  is  a  rash  person  who  ventures  a  dogmatic 
judgment.  The  arguments  for  and  against  departmental 
teaching  are  presented  in  chapter  v,  section  A.  A  careful 
examination  of  this  display  will  show  that  the  arguments  are 
of  very  uneven  value,  that  they  do  not  always  join  issue, 
that  too  frequently  they  rest  upon  assumptions  unproved 
and  perhaps  not  completely  considered,  and  that  unfortu- 
nately they  are  for  the  most  part  expressions  of  judgment 
based  on  wide  but  very  varied  experiences. 

If  junior  high  schools  are  to  "  bridge  the  gap  "  between 
the  elementary  and  the  secondary  school,  it  would  seem 
reasonable  that  they  should  use  among  other  practices  a 
modified  form  of  departmental  teaching,  introducing  it 
gradually  from  the  seventh  grade  onward.  So  far  as  the 
arguments  are  sound  that  the  change  from  a  single  teacher 
in  the  elementary  school  to  several  in  the  high  school  is  de- 
moralizing, it  would  seem  even  stronger  still  against  the  sud- 
den change  two  years  earlier.  Testimony  that  no  such  de- 
moralization exists  when  a  sudden  change  is  made  in  the 
seventh  grade  is  frequent,  but  it  is  not  convincing.  Cer- 
tainly any  system  of  departmental  or  even  of  semi-depart- 
mental organization  that  is  not  supplemented  by  a  care- 
fully planned  advisory  system  is  likely  to  earn  the  objections 
that  the  individual  pupil  is  inadequately  looked  after,  di- 


82  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

reeled,  and  encouraged.  On  considering  the  question  of  de- 
partmental teaching  one  should  constantly  inquire  which 
of  the  claims  are  likely  to  be  justified  under  reasonably  good 
administration.  Both  departmental  and  non-departmental 
teaching  need  skillful  and  continued  supervision. 

Objection  IX.  The  junior  high  school  will  cause  two 
gaps  in  the  school  system  instead  of  one. 

So  far  as  this  objection  is  valid  it  argues  for  a  unified 
twelve-year  system.  For  many  reasons  the  country  has 
very  generally  approved  as  ideal  the  separation  of  secondary- 
school  pupils  from  those  younger;  therefore  the  arguments 
pertaining  to  a  continuous  twelve-year  school  are  not  con- 
sidered here.  The  objection  overlooks  two  very  essential 
facts:  first,  that  even  in  the  most  radical  proposals  for  junior 
high  schools  there  is  no  such  sharp  change  in  organization, 
in  subject-matter,  in  discipline,  and  in  atmosphere  as  there 
usually  is  at  the  beginning  of  the  four-year  high  school;  and, 
second,  that  even  if  there  were,  the  compulsory-attendance 
law  would  hold  most  children  over  this  first  period  of  pos- 
sible "  break  "  and  see  them  fairly  introduced  to  the  tran- 
sitional school. 

The  final  group  of  objections,  four  in  number,  are  the 
most  important  of  all,  since  they  attack  some  of  the  funda- 
mental principles  and  programs  of  the  junior  high  school. 

Objection  X.  The  segregation  of  pupils  of  early  adoles- 
cence is  undesirable. 

This  objection,  so  far  as  it  concerns  segregation  from  the 
younger  pupils,  is  well  voiced  by  Joseph  S.  Taylor,  District 
Superintendent  of  the  City  of  New  York: 1 

1  New  York  Globe  and  Commercial  Advertiser,  February  15,  1918. 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  83 

We  find  it  very  desirable  to  have  the  older  children  associate 
with  the  younger.  In  then*  play  and  in  the  family  the  younger 
imitate  the  older,  and  thus  obtain  a  considerable  part  of  their 
natural  education  from  playmates  who  lead  in  games  and  sports. 
In  school  they  also  get  inspiration  from  contact  with  their  more 
advanced  associates,  and  desire  to  know  and  do  what  older  folks 
know  and  do.  The  older  children,  too,  profit  by  this  arrangement. 
They  develop  a  sense  of  responsibility  and  cooperation  by  having 
to  look  out  for  the  little  ones,  by  answering  their  questions,  and  by 
helping  them  hi  their  lessons  and  play.  The  work  of  the  older 
pupils  may  be  used  in  teaching  the  lower  grades.  Maps,  charts, 
diagrams  for  the  study  of  history,  geography,  and  nature  are  made 
by  older  pupils  for  use  by  the  younger.  Children  in  the  last  two 
years  may  read  to  children  of  the  first  two. 

Taylor  favors  a  nine-year  school  preceding  secondary  educa- 
tion, and  so  does  not  push  the  argument  logically  forward, 
as  does  Superintendent  Wirt,  of  Gary,  to  demand  that  pupils 
of  all  ages,  from  the  kindergarten  to  the  end  of  public  school- 
ing, should  be  in  one  building.  Of  course  the  twelve-year 
school  is  common  in  small  school  districts,  but  it  is  sig- 
nificant that  in  a  preponderating  majority  of  the  districts 
large  enough  to  afford  it,  the  secondary  school  is  a  separate 
institution;  and  even  when  housed  in  the  same  building 
with  elementary  grades  it  is  usually  a  separate  organization, 
the  pupils  mingling  seldom  by  intention  of  the  authorities. 
The  assumption  by  advocates  of  separately  organized 
junior  high  schools,  an  assumption  generally  approved  by 
them  after  experience,  is  that  the  more  homogeneous  a 
group  of  pupils  in  age,  interests,  and  social  maturity,  the 
better  the  teaching  and  the  easier  the  discipline.  They 
feel  that  it  is  especially  desirable  that  early  adolescents, 
who  are  neither  children  nor  youth,  should  be  segregated  in 
order  that  adequate  provision  may  be  made  for  their  peculi- 


84  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

arities  of  disposition.  It  is  argued,  too,  that  the  influence  of 
early  adolescents  on  small  children  is  frequently  bad,  and  that 
if  kept  by  themselves  during  the  transition  to  youth  they 
will  be  less  influenced  to  imitate  the  undesirable  traits  of 
older  pupils.  Whether  early  adolescents  are  segregated  or 
not  in  a  separate  building,  a  junior-high-school  program  in  its 
other  details  may  be  prepared  and  administered  for  them. 

Objection  XI.    The  junior  high  school  will  cost  more. 

It  can  easily  be  shown  that  if  no  increased  educational  op- 
portunities are  offered  when  a  junior  high  school  is  estab- 
lished and  if  the  salaries  of  the  teachers  are  not  increased, 
the  cost  per  pupil  will  be  reduced  rather  than  increased. 
But  if  provisions  be  adequately  made  for  desired  improve- 
ments in  the  education  of  early  adolescents,  the  objection 
will  doubtless  be  soundly  based  on  fact.  There  is  seldom 
in  education,  any  more  than  elsewhere,  a  possibility  of  get- 
ting something  for  nothing.  If  a  public  primarily  desires 
to  save  money,  there  is  no  simpler  program  for  doing  so  than 
closing  the  secondary  schools  entirely.  Whether  or  not  the 
sharp  increase  in  per  capita  cost  for  the  high  school  over  that 
of  the  grammar  grades  is  better  than  a  more  gradual  increase 
proportioned  to  the  widening  educational  offering  is  a  matter 
of  opinion.  The  fact  is  that  the  junior  high  school  generally 
increases  the  monetary  outlay  for  education; l  this  increase 
can  be  justified  only  by  a  corresponding  improvement  in 
the  educational  opportunities  offered,  or  by  an  increase  in 
the  number  of  pupils  retained  through  the  ninth  grade. 

Objection  XII.  Differentiated  curricula  should  not  be 
offered  until  pupils  have  completed  eight  years  of  work 
acquiring  the  tools  of  education. 

1  See  chapter  xu. 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  85 

This  matter  has  been  extensively  considered  in  the  pre- 
ceding chapters.  It  is  obvious  that  in  the  absence  of  clearly 
formulated  statements  of  minimum  "  tools  of  education," 
and  with  the  great  variation  by  different  schools  in  equip- 
ment, length  of  term,  trained  teachers,  and  the  like,  an  in- 
sistence on  eight  years  as  the  length  of  common  training 
is  more  or  less  meaningless.  Common  tools  are  for  com- 
mon use;  and,  as  much  of  life  is  differentiated,  some  part  of 
training  should  be  differentiated  too.  Because  of  the  large 
number  of  withdrawals  from  school  at  or  about  the  age  of 
fourteen,  differentiation  must  be  begun  before  that  time  or 
it  will  fail  to  profit  many  who  perhaps  need  it  most.  Junior- 
high-school  advocates  very  generally  urge  a  gradual  differ- 
entiation, often  not  beginning  until  the  eighth  grade;  and 
one  of  the  contending  programs  proposes  that  one  or  more 
years  of  this  intermediate  school  be  given  over  to  common 
courses  exploratory  in  their  nature  so  as  to  insure  the  wisest 
election  possible  when  optional  courses  are  offered.  The 
whole  problem,  because  highly  complex  and  important,  is 
deserving  of  much  more  consideration  than  has  been  ac- 
corded it. 

Objection  XIII.  The  junior  high  school  may  make  against 
democracy. 

This  objection,  which  was  first  voiced  by  Bagley,1  has 
been  raised  to  its  due  prominence  by  the  programs  of  some 
junior  high  schools  and  by  the  clarification  of  national  ideals 
during  the  World  War.  While  admitting  that  "  the  ad- 
vantages are  clearly  on  the  side  of  the  six-six  organiza- 
tion from  the  point  of  view  of  administrative  expediency 
1  School  and  Home  Education,  vol.  34,  pp.  3-5. 


86  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

and  to  a  large  extent  from  the  standpoint  of  educational 
theory,"  Bagley  doubted  the  wisdom  of  early  differentiation 
in  that  the  children  may  fail  to  get  "  a  common  basis  of  cer- 
tain ideas  and  ideals  and  standards  which  go  a  long  way 
toward  insuring  social  similarity  —  a  basis  of  common  feel- 
ing and  common  thought  and  common  aspiration  which  is 
absolutely  essential  to  an  effective  democracy."  "  Strati- 
fied society,"  he  continued,  "  may  encourage  the  develop- 
ment of  social  groups  that  cannot  understand  one  another 
because  they  lack  a  common  basis  of  knowledge,  ideal,  and 
aspiration  ";  therefore  he  pleaded  for  constants  in  the  cur- 
riculum —  constants,  it  is  reasonably  assumed,  such  as  will 
assuredly  make  for  social  integration. 

This  clear-sighted  vision  of  the  possibilities  of  early  and 
complete  differentiation  is  stated  in  another  form  by 
Taylor: x 

The  permanent  segregation  of  children  twelve  years  of  age  into 
liberal  and  industrial  groups  is  a  species  of  social  predestination 
which  is  well  suited  to  an  autocratic  government  like  that  of  Ger- 
many —  where  the  class  system  is  deliberately  cultivated  —  but 
which  is  wholly  unsuited  to  a  democracy  like  ours.  This  objec- 
tion is  eloquently  voiced  by  Professor  Dewey  in  his  Schools  of  To- 
Morrow,  and  is  epitomized  in  the  following  quotation  from  a  re- 
cent address  of  his: 

"Instead  of  trying  to  split  schools  into  two  kinds  —  one  of  a 
trade  type  for  children  who,  it  is  assumed,  are  to  be  employees,  and 
one  of  a  liberal  type  for  children  of  the  well  to  do  —  it  will  aim  at 
such  a  reorganization  of  existing  schools  as  will  give  all  pupils  a 
genuine  respect  for  useful  work,  ability  to  render  service,  and  con- 
tempt for  social  parasites,  whether  they  be  called  tramps  or  leaders 
of  society." 

1  New  York  Globe  and  Commercial  Advertiser,  February  15,  1918. 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  87 

Because  of  his  careful  statement  of  the  possibilities  of 
danger,  Bagley  has  erroneously  been  often  cited  as  opposed 
to  the  whole  junior-high-school  movement.  To  prevent 
there  being  a  misconception  resulting  in  an  obstacle  to  gen- 
erally desired  educational  reform,  Bagley  collaborated  with 
Judd,  a  leading  advocate  of  the  junior  high  school,  in  a 
statement 1  that  is  not  likely  to  give  comfort  to  reactionaries 
opposed  to  any  material  change  in  our  educational  progress. 
Following  is  a  brief  summary  of  the  article,  which  should  be 
read  in  its  entirety : 

I.  "The  first  principle  ...  is  that  all  organization  within  the 
schools  should  be  judged  as  appropriate  to  the  American 
system  of  education  just  in  the  degree  in  which  it  makes  for 
continuous  and  uninterrupted  opportunity  for  every  pupil." 
II.  The  second  general  principle  is  that  there  should  be  a  larger 
measure  of  enrichment  of  the  course  of  study  and  of  the  op- 
portunity offered  to  the  pupil,  affecting  especially  grades  7-9. 

In  this  connection  the  fact  should  not  be  overlooked  "that 
the  enrichment  of  a  course  of  study  often  consists  in  that 
internal  reorganization  which  forces  instruction  from  unpro- 
ductive by-paths.  .  .  .  This  internal  readjustment  is  quite  as 
important  as  importation  into  the  course  of  new  material.  .  .  . 
The  enriched  program  must  have  one  characteristic  above 
all  others.  It  must  be  appropriate  to  a  democracy." 

a.  Three  positive  statements. 

1.  "The  future  must  see  greater  emphasis  than  has 
the  past  on  studies  of  community  life  and  commu- 
nity needs, "the  term  "community"  not  being  nar- 
rowly defined. 

2.  The  enriched  course  must  provide  "  a  broad,  sure 
foundation  for  the  practical  life  of  the  individual," 
but  "no  narrow  limitation  of  the  individual,  no 
training  for  a  single  type  of  life.     This  is  not  a  plea 

1  "Enlarging  the  American  Elementary  School,"  School  Review,  vol.  2$ 
pp.  313-23. 


88  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

for  narrow  trade  training;  it  is  rather  that  there 
must  be  a  vigorous  effort  toward  the  development 
of  a  comprehensive  view  of  industry,  so  that  the 
individual  may  choose  his  career  after  a  broad  view 
of  democratic  opportunity." 

3.  "The  enrichment  of  the  course  must  aim  con- 
sciously at  the  destruction  of  those  provincialisms 
and  class  prejudices  which  have  worked  in  the  his- 
tory of  nations  in  the  past,  counter  to  the  interests 
of  democracy." 
6.  Two  negative  statements. 

1.  "A  course  of  study  (curriculum?)  is  not  broad  and 
enriched  in  the  sense  in  which  the  term  '  enrich- 
ment' is  used  in  this  article  if  it  is  a  limited  course 
preparing  for  a  trade.  .  .  .  Whenever  trade  train- 
ing is  given  it  should  be  accompanied  just  as  far  as 
possible  by  broadening,  sympathy-cultivating  in- 
struction." 

2.  "There  are  certain  forms  of  enlargement  of  the 
course  of  study  which  defeat  rather  than  promote 
the  ends  of  education."    They  are  the  introduction 
of  more  subjects  than  the  pupils  can  assimilate 
and  the  introduction  of  courses  "which  are  in  form 
far  beyond  the  maturity  of  the  pupils." 

III.  The  third  general  principle  is  that  provision  should  be  made 
for  "  the  wide  differences  among  pupils  with  respect  to  tastes, 
abilities,  and  capacities  for  progress." 

"If  the  elementary  course  is  so  safeguarded  that  its  content 
of  instruction  shall  give  to  all  children  some  common  central 
body  of  ideas,  differentiation  must  be  introduced  cautiously 
and  with  full  regard  to  the  requirement  that  universal  instruc- 
tion be  given  in  fundamentals.  It  is  not  incompatible  with 
this  demand  that  individual  differences  be  recognized  to 
some  extent  from  the  very  outset  of  school  life,  although  the 
general  principle  of  individual  differences  begins  to  assert 
itself  as  an  important  basis  of  educational  organization  in  the 
middle  grades  of  the  school."  Especially  should  provision  be 
made  for  differences  in  rate  of  progress  and  in  richness  of 
courses  because  of  differences  in  the  intellectual  ability  of 
pupils. 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  89 

The  authors  conclude,  "Our  school  system  should  be  in 
every  sense  a  'unit'  system.  It  should  reflect  at  every 
point  the  two  fundamental  and  complementary  principles 
of  democracy  —  opportunity  and  obligation,  opportunity 
for  individual  development,  coupled  with  and  paralleled  by 
the  obligation  of  the  individual  willingly  to  learn  the  lessons 
that  all  must  learn  in  common  if  our  democracy  is  to  rest 
on  a  real  community  of  ideas  and  ideals." 

This  statement  should  go  far  toward  clarifying  the  issue 
and  stimulating  schoolmen  to  attempt,  either  in  the  old  or- 
ganization or  in  the  new,  the  internal  reform  of  subject-mat- 
ter, which  is  of  vastly  more  importance  than  the  administra- 
tive unit  in  which  it  is  presented.  There  is  very  likely  to  be 
almost  unanimous  approval  of  the  principles  set  forth  by 
Bagley  and  Judd  as  an  ideal  toward  which  all  in  America 
should  work;  in  practice,  however,  there  will  assuredly, 
arise  differences  as  schools  seek  to  satisfy  the  demands  of  the 
nation  and  the  needs,  both  immediate  and  remote,  of  pupils. 
These  differences  in  practice  will  arise  partly  because  the 
elementary  schools,  by  varying  tremendously  in  their  ef- 
fectiveness, will  secure  the  desired  community  of  interests 
and  ideals  at  different  periods  of  pupils'  advancement,  and 
partly  because  there  is  no  agreement  as  to  the  definite  amount 
of  common  training  that  is  adequate.  As  Bagley  and  Judd 
themselves  say,  "  How  soon  the  school  should  recognize 
this  fact,"  that  as  the  child  matures  he  differs  increasingly 
from  his  neighbor,  "  and  begin  to  offer  diversified  oppor- 
tunities .  .  .  has  been  an  unsolved  problem." 

Even  in  the  junior  high  schools  that  offer  in  the  seventh 
grade  the  most  markedly  differentiated  curricula  there  is 
still  retained  for  all  pupils  a  large  amount  of  subject-matter 


90  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

that  has  been  and  is  given  in  undifferentiating  schools. 
Whether  this  is  adequate  or  not  is  a  matter  of  opinion.  In 
this  discussion  it  should  never  be  assumed  that  merely  be- 
cause subject-matter  is  common,  it  will  therefore  as  a  matter 
of  course  lead  to  a  desirable  integration.  Even  in  the  grades 
before  differentiation  has  begun,  the  subject-matter  must 
be  intelligently  chosen  to  achieve  the  end  in  view.  It  may 
be  cogently  argued  that  in  all  years  of  the  secondary  school, 
pupils  who  have  elected  different  curricula  should  for  the 
purposes  of  a  social  democracy  mingle  in  classes  that  pre- 
sent material  of  common  interests  and  needs  and  participate 
together  in  extra-curricula  activities. 

It  seems,  in  conclusion,  that  admitting  this  objection  as 
valid  against  any  schools  that  may  attempt  to  make  early 
and  irrevocable  classification  of  pupils,  nearly  every  one 
approves  as  ideal  a  unified  elementary  course  of  a  length 
determined  by  the  necessity  of  securing  democratic  inte- 
gration, and  a  subsequent  intermediate  course  of  explora- 
tion that  will  gradually  lead  to  diversified  curricula.  Prob- 
ably exception  must  under  present  conditions  be  made  for 
the  pupil  who  for  one  reason  or  another  will  not  remain  in 
school  beyond  the  age  of  compulsory  education.  Com- 
promise and  adjustment  will  result  for  him  as  for  any  other 
variation  from  a  social,  physical,  or  psychical  norm.  To 
secure  the  ideal  in  practice,  then,  every  form  of  organization 
must  work  primarily  by  means  of  internal  reform  to  make 
education  a  continuous  process  onward  as  long  as  it  is  profit- 
able and  possible  for  any  individual  pupil  to  remain  in 
school. 

A  plea  for  the  over-aged  and  retarded  pupil  is  made  by 


CLAIMS  AND  OBJECTIONS  91 

Principal  Cox  of  the  Blewett  Junior  High  School,  of  St. 
Louis.1  He  contends,  first,  for  the  admission  to  the  junior 
high  school  of  all  mentally  normal  pupils,  whatever  their 
academic  progress,  one  year  before  they  reach  the  limit  of 
compulsory  schooling,  since  "  it  cannot  be  of  maximum  help 
to  children  who  never  reach  it ";  and,  second,  that 

it  must  make  its  instructional  program  so  worth-while  that  these 
pupils  will  remain  in  school;  to  deny  vocational  preparation  to 
fourteen-,  fifteen-,  and  sixteen-year-old  children  is  undemocratic 
and  inefficient  in  the  extreme.  For  over-age  children  [he  continues] 
do  leave  school  in  the  7th,  8th.  and  9th  grades  in  disconcerting 
numbers.  Offering  honest  vocational  preparation  keeps  many 
of  them  in  school,  where  the  organization,  the  teachers,  and  at 
least  a  part  of  the  curriculum  are  powerful  influences  to  preserve 
and  increase  socially  valuable  characteristics  and  resources  of  these 
boys  and  girls  "who  don't  like  books."  .  .  .  One  must  face  the 
actual  situation,  and  then  this  academic  danger  of  "social  castes" 
turns  out  not  to  exist.  And  if  it  did  exist,  would  the  sensible  way 
to  meet  it  be  to  drive  out  of  school  all  but  the  "upper  caste"?  No 
one  who  actually  develops  a  democratic  junior  high  school  and 
follows  up  the  pupils  who  drop  out  of  school  would  be  willing  to 
say  to  his  over-age  pupils:  "If  you  want  special  training,  you 
can't  have  it  here." 

In  a  private  letter  Mr.  Cox  writes: 

We  try  to  offer  educational  opportunities  to  the  slow  and  the 
over-aged  so  definite  and  immediately  valuable  that  they  and 
their  parents  will  find  that  they  cannot  afford  to  leave  school. 

This  general  position  is  also  held  by  Bonser,  who  states 
that  according  to  the  United  States  Census  of  1910  a  great 
majority  of  the  workers  in  all  the  vocations  but  public  and 
professional  service  —  that  is,  nearly  ninety-five  per  cent  of 
all  workers  — 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  pp.  541-44. 


02  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

usually  begin,  and  will  continue  to  begin,  wage-earning  by  the 
age  of  fourteen,  sixteen,  or  eighteen  years.  .  .  .  Their  preparation 
for  both  wage-earning  and  the  other  activities  of  citizenship  is 
seldom  more  than  from  two  to  four  years  beyond  the  sixth  grade, 
and  at  best  rarely  more  than  six  years. 

These  thirteen  objections,  it  will  be  seen,  are,  like  the  argu- 
ments for  the  junior  high  school,  of  uneven  pertinence  and 
weight.  They  are  enumerated  in  order  that  a  superintend- 
ent may  criticize  from  every  point  of  view  the  program 
that  he  is  formulating  for  the  improvement  of  his  school 
system.  In  many  cases  local  conditions  may  lay  on  one 
argument  an  emphasis  that  is  not  felt  elsewhere.  Certainly 
it  is  incumbent  on  any  one  considering  a  material  change  in 
an  existing  institution  to 

"Image  the  whole,  then  execute  the  parts  — 

Fancy  the  fabric 

Quite,  ere  you  build,  ere  steel  strike  fire  from  quartz. 
Ere  mortar  dab  brick!" 


CHAPTER  IV 
ORGANIZATION 

A.  DISTRIBUTION  OF  GRADES  AND  AFFILIATIONS 
As  would  be  expected,  a  great  majority  of  the  junior  high 
schools  —  242,  or  88  per  cent  of  those  reporting  on  this  topic 
—  have  been  established  in  systems  previously  having 
eight  elementary  grades.  It  may  be  questioned  if  more  than 
half  of  the  small  number  of  junior  high  schools  reporting 
from  the  territory  of  seven-year  elementary  schools  have 
a  right  to  the  name,  for  there  problems  of  unusual  difficulty 
exist.  If  in  this  territory  the  high  school  is  to  follow  the  con- 
ventional curricula,  as  it  usually  attempts  to  do,  the  ele- 
mentary courses  must  either  have  been  already  cut  to  the 
quick  or  the  work  is  inadequately  presented  to  many  of  the 
pupils.  In  the  territory  of  nine-year  elementary  schools, 
the  problem  is  considerably  simplified.  It  is  well  within 
safety  to  state  that  a  majority  of  the  junior  high  schools 
established  there  are  reducing  the  public-school  offering  to 
the  usual  twelve  years. 

The  number  of  grades  included  in  the  junior  high  school 
is  still l  widely  variable,  though  the  tendency  is  strongly 
toward  a  combination  of  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth. 
The  distribution  of  grades  in  the  267  schools  reporting  may 
be  seen  from  the  accompanying  table.  Several  prominent 
schools,  though  not  reported  here  (e.g.,  the  Bloom  Junior 

1  See  Report  of  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education,  1914,  pp. 
148-49. 


94  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  XI 
DISTRIBUTION  OF  GRADES  IN  267  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Grades  Number  Per  cent 

6-8  3                           1.1 

7  2                         0.8 
7-8  71  26.6 
7-9  174  65.2 
7-10  0                             .0 

8  6                          2.2 
8-9  8                          3.0 
8-10  1                           0.4 

9  2  0.8 

Total 267  100.1 

High  School,  of  Cincinnati,  and  the  Seward  Park  Interme- 
diate School,  New  York  City),  have  accepted  the  combina- 
tion of  grades  7-10  as  most  nearly  ideal.  It  is  not  uncom- 
mon to  find  a  school  established  with  grades  7-8  or  7-9 
growing  until  it  becomes  a  full  six-year  high  school;  this 
has  happened  repeatedly  in  Vermont. 

The  figures  in  Table  XI  were  not  asked  for  directly  in 
the  questionnaire,  but  were  gathered  from  the  report  made 
on  enrollment  by  grades.  If  the  ninth-grade  enrollment 
was  recorded  there  along  with  that  of  one  or  more  lower 
grades,  the  ninth  grade  was  checked  as  belonging  to  the 
junior  high  school,  though  it  is  possible  that  in  a  few  cases 
there  is  a  unified  six-year  secondary  course.  Davis,1  using 
a  different  category  and  having  more  complete  returns  from 
the  States  included  in  the  North  Central  Territory,  found 
quite  a  different  distribution.  This  is  shown  in  Table  XII. 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  p.  326. 


ORGANIZATION  95 

TABLE  XII 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  GRADES  m  292  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  THE 
NORTH  CENTRAL  ASSOCIATION  (DAVIS) 

Per  cent 

7.5 
45.4 
30.4 
6.1 
3.8 
2.7 
3.8 

99.7 

Douglass1  gives  the  distribution  by  grades  for  184  junior 
high  schools  as  indicated  in  Table  XIII. 

TABLE  XIII 

DISTRIBUTION  OF  GRADES  IN  184  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

(DOUGLASS) 


Grades 

Number 

6-8 

22 

7-8 

133 

7-9 

89 

7-12 

18 

8 

11 

8-9 

8 

Others 

11 

Total 

292 

Grades 

Number 

Per  cent 

5-7 

1 

0.5 

5-8 

1 

0.5 

6-7 

1 

0.5 

6-8 

11 

6.0 

6-6 

10 

5.4 

7-8 

77 

41.8 

7-9 

64 

34.8 

7-10 

7 

3.8 

8 

3 

1.6 

8-9 

8 

4.3 

9 

1 

0.5 

Total 

184 

99.7 

Fifteenth  Year-Book,  p.  88. 


96  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

In  all  three  returns  it  is  obvious  that  the  tendency  is  over- 
whelming to  combine  grades  7-8  or  grades  7-9.  Davis  and 
Douglass  agree  very  closely  in  the  relative  percentages  for 
each  of  these  two  groups,  while  this  study  found  two  and  a 
half  times  as  many  of  the  three-year  as  of  the  two-year 
type. 

Unfortunately  no  attempt  was  made,  by  means  of  the 
questionnaire  used  for  this  study,  to  ascertain  the  number 
of  junior  high  schools  that  are  independent  or  that  are  un- 
der the  direction  of  principals  of  elementary  and  of  higher 
schools.  Davis  found,1  however,  that  sixty  per  cent  of  his 
293  junior  high  schools  had  principals  of  their  own.  There 
has  not  infrequently  been  somewhat  sharp  discussion  as  to 
whether  this  is  best,  principals  of  both  elementary  schools 
and  of  high  schools  desiring  the  control  "so  as  to  effect  a 
better  articulation."  The  wisest  policy  seems  to  be  that 
determined  by  local  conditions  —  that  is,  the  location  of 
schools,  the  ideals  professed,  and  the  character  of  the  men 
or  women  available.  Examples  can  easily  be  shown  of  suc- 
cessful and  of  unsuccessful  control  by  principals  who  have 
affiliations  with  other  schools  or  who  are  independent. 
Observation  of  schools  visited  warrants  the  statement  that 
the  tendency  to  select  a  principal  from  the  elementary- 
school  corps  rather  than  from  the  high  school  is  somewhat 
the  stronger,  partly  because  men  and  women  of  this  training 
are  eager  for  the  advancement  offered  by  the  position,  and 
partly  because  they  are  believed  to  be  generally  more  sym- 
pathetic with  the  movement.  Of  course  there  must  be 
many  exceptions  in  both  directions. 
1  loc.  cti.,  p.  328. 


ORGANIZATION  97 

B.  RELATION  TO  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  INCLUDING 
ADMISSION 

The  relation  of  the  junior  high  school  to  the  first  six  grades 
depends  in  theory  primarily  on  the  conception  of  the  pur- 
poses of  the  intermediate  organization.  If  one  of  the  more 
important  purposes  of  the  junior  high  school  is  to  bridge 
the  gap  that  exists  between  the  elementary  and  secondary 
schools,  then  certainly  it  should  not  create  another  one  be- 
tween the  sixth  and  seventh  grades,  even  though  the  com- 
pulsory-education law  holds  most  pupils  until  they  pass 
beyond  that  point.  Consistency  of  theory  demands  close 
articulation  with  the  elementary  grades,  but  unfortunately 
it  had  not  generally  been  provided  for  when  junior  high 
schools  were  instituted.  The  articulation  should  be  in  sub- 
ject-matter, in  methods  of  teaching,  and  in  social  control 
of  the  pupils. 

As  pointed  out  elsewhere,  it  is  impracticable  and  unwise 
to  prescribe  definite  work  for  all  junior  high  schools  regard- 
less of  what  has  been  accomplished  in  the  elementary  grades. 
The  recognized  variability  in  elementary  schools  makes  it 
necessary  for  the  junior-high-school  program  to  base  itself 
soundly  on  what  has  preceded.  Whether  the  junior  high 
school  is  to  be  in  the  first  instance  exploratory,  a  continua- 
tion of  elementary  work,  or  a  preparation  for  secondary 
studies,  it  must  know  definitely  on  what  it  may  build.  In  all 
probability  much  of  the  work  now  given  in  grades  5-8  of 
the  elementary  school  will  need  to  be  redistributed  to  make 
the  articulation  satisfactory. 

The  questionnaire  asked  on  this  point,  "  What  changes 
in  the  curriculum  or  courses  of  study  in  the  elementary 


98  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

school  have  been  made  because  of  the  junior  high-school 
organization?  "  To  this  the  replies  were  made  by  255 
cities  as  summarized  in  Table  XIV: 

TABLE  XIV 

CHANGES  IN  CURRICULUM  OR  COURSES  OF  STUDY  IN  THE 
ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL  BECAUSE  OF  THE  JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL 
ORGANIZATION 

1.  None 132 

2.  To  meet  junior-high-school  requirements 3 

3.  Addition  of  elections 2 

4.  Simplifying  and  eliminating  useless  material ...  9 

5.  More  ground  covered  in  various  essentials 12 

6.  Entirely  revised 8 

7.  More  applied  subjects 1 

8.  More  industrial  work 19 

9.  Larger  choice  of  subjects 2 

10.  Departmental  in  one  subject 1 

11.  Organized  like  junior  high  school 1 

12.  English 11 

13.  Grammar 3 

14.  Foreign  language  introduced 17 

15.  History 4 

16.  Civics 1 

17.  Geography 6 

18.  General  science  introduced 8 

19.  Arithmetic 12 

20.  Algebra  added 2 

21.  Drawing 1 

These  answers  probably  should  not  be  taken  at  their  face 
value,  for  several  of  them  (e.g.,  numbers  14  and  19)  suggest 
that  the  question  was  not  carefully  read.  It  is  not  likely 
that  because  of  a  junior-high-school  organization  secondary- 
school  subjects  were  introduced  into  more  than  ten  per  cent 
of  the  schools.  Only  ten  or  fifteen  per  cent  apparently 


ORGANIZATION  99 

claim  to  have  made  any  extensive  changes  in  the  subject- 
matter  taught  in  the  elementary  grades. 

To  the  additional  questions,  "  Are  the  outlines  of  such 
modified  courses  of  study  available?  "  there  were  76  af- 
firmative and  58  negative  answers.  Twenty-four  of  the 
cities  sent  with  the  replies  copies  of  their  "  courses  of  study," 
which  in  nearly  every  case  proved  to  be  a  program  of  studies 
or  an  outline  of  curricula.  If  a  thoroughgoing  readjust- 
ment of  elementary-school  work  has  anywhere  been  made  in 
preparation  for  the  establishment  of  a  junior  high  school,  the 
fact  has  escaped  notice.  Without  this  preparation  it  is 
surprising  that  the  junior  high  school  has  been  as  success- 
ful as  it  seems  to  be.  Du  Shane  l  and  others  have  pointed 
out  that  conditions  in  grades  4-6  are  far  from  satisfactory, 
so  that  it  would  seem  reasonable  to  expect  a  superintendent 
to  attack  the  problem  of  these  grades  at  the  same  time  or 
before  he  undertakes  a  reorganization  higher  up. 

Upon  the  efficiency  of  the  work  done  here  [grades  4-6]  will 
depend  in  large  measure  the  success  of  any  attempt  to  reorganize 
the  upper  grades.  Hand  in  hand  with  the  development  of  a  new 
point  of  view  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  should  go  a  con- 
certed and  intelligent  effort  (1)  to  insure  better  teaching  and  a 
more  mature  and  permanent  body  of  teachers  for  the  middle 
grades,  and  (2)  to  formulate  principles  that  shall  serve  to  govern 
the  instruction  and  training  of  children  between  eight  and  twelve, 
at  least  as  satisfactorily  as  analogous  principles  are  now  governing 
the  work  of  the  primary  grades  and  the  work  that  has  to  do  with 
the  adolescent  period.2 

Fortunately  for  one  planning  a  modification  of  elementary 
school  work  a  general  contribution  has  already  been  made  in 

1  Elementary  School  Journal,  vol.  17,  pp.  89-105,  151-62. 
*  Bagley  and  Judd,  Sc.  Rev.,  vol.  26,  p.  316. 


100  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

the  several  reports  of  the  Committee  on  Minimum  Essen- 
tials.1 A  number  of  school  systems  have  also  laid  down 
minimum  requirements  for  the  various  grades,  some  of  them 
so  simple  as  to  make  it  improbable  that  any  teacher  will 
consider  them  maximum  requirements  as  well.  Among 
these  formulations  may  be  mentioned,  as  prepared  with 
especial  care  and  given  experimental  sanction,  that  of  the 
City  of  Boston.2 

When  minimum  requirements  for  the  elementary  grades 
may  be  really  counted  on  as  possessed  by  all  of  the  pupils, 
an  intelligent  program  of  courses  of  study  for  the  junior 
high  school  may  be  devised  —  courses  that  are  soundly 
based  on  the  achievement  of  pupils  and  leading  gradually 
toward  the  goals  set  up  for  the  new  organization.  Any- 
thing less  invites  disappointment. 

The  traditional  method  of  promoting  pupils,  "when  they 
have  successfully  completed  the  work  of  the  preceding 
grade,"  is  still  the  practice  in  the  majority  of  junior  high 
schools.  Here  and  there  a  principal  voices  dissatisfaction 
at  the  varied  achievements  of  the  pupils  in  the  elementary 
grades  and  their  consequent  lack  of  preparation  for  doing 
the  junior-high-school  work  as  planned.  Principal  Wetzel, 
of  Trenton,  New  Jersey,  writes: 

I  cannot  close  my  report  without  calling  attention  to  the  great 
need  of  similar  coordination  between  the  junior  school  and  the 
first  six  grades. 

1  Part  I  of  the  Fourteenth,  Sixteenth,  and  Seventeenth  Year-Books  of  the 
National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education. 

1  School  Documents  11,  15,  16  (1915),  11  (1916),  18,  19  (1917).  Pub- 
lished by  the  Boston  Public  Schools.  See  also  Second  Report  of  the  Commit- 
tee on  the  Elimination  of  Sub ject-M otter,  Iowa  State  Teachers'  Association, 
1916. 


ORGANIZATION  101 

I  know  of  no  better  way  to  bring  this  about  than  to  establish 
definite  standards  of  achievement  in  the  common  branches  for 
the  first  six  grades.  Such  standards  are  now  available.  Their 
adoption  in  Trenton  would  stress  the  kind  of  work  which  should 
be  done  in  these  grades.  Little  headway  can  be  made  in  the 
junior  school  until  this  is  done,  especially  in  spelling,  composition 
and  reading,  writing  and  arithmetic.  Under  writing  I  include 
the  making  of  figures. 

Standardized  tests  in  these  fundamentals  as  accepted  in  the 
most  progressive  communities  would  keep  in  the  lower  grades 
many  pupils  that  now  come  to  the  junior  school.  It  is  not  the 
fault  of  the  pupils.  The  fault  is  rather  in  the  lack  of  a  definite 
and  limited  program  tested  by  accepted  standards.  All  school 
experience  shows  that  teachers  will  try  to  secure  the  results  that 
are  sought  in  tests.  The  New  York  Regents'  system  is  a  con- 
spicuous example.  The  establishment  in  Trenton  of  standard- 
ized tests  in  the  subjects  mentioned  will  do  more  to  promote  the 
junior-school  program  than  any  other  one  thing.  Brown  and 
Coffman  (How  to  Teach  Arithmetic,  p.  92)  say:  "Under  the  influ- 
ence of  the  movement  for  the  training  of  the  higher  rational  proc- 
esses we  are  in  great  danger  of  failing  to  reduce  to  an  automatic 
basis  the  skills  formerly  emphasized.  The  place  primarily  to 
reduce  these  skills  to  an  automatic  basis  is  in  the  first  six  grades. 

There  are  evidences  that  promotion  is  more  and  more 
coming  to  be  made  on  the  basis  primarily  of  the  individual 
pupil's  welfare.  This  means  that  promotion  shall  be  made 
when  it  is  likely  for  any  reason  to  be  for  the  pupil's  benefit, 
whether  he  has  "passed"  in  his  preliminary  work  or  not. 
One  will  sympathize  with  this  principle  in  proportion  as  he 
is  cognizant  of  the  unreliability  of  teachers'  marks.  The 
Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education 
recommends  l  specifically  "that  secondary  schools  admit, 
and  provide  suitable  instruction  for,  all  pupils  who  are  in 
any  respect  so  mature  that  they  would  derive  more  benefit 
1  Report  on  Cardinal  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  page  19. 


102  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

from  the  secondary  school  than  from  the  elementary  school." 
Among  other  bodies  that  have  made  similar  recommenda- 
tions is  the  New  Jersey  Council  of  Education.  It  recom- 
mended in  1914  that  there  should  be  admitted  to  the  junior 
high  schools  (a)  graduates  of  the  sixth  grade  who  shall  follow 
academic,  industrial,  or  domestic  science,  or  commercial 
curricula,  and  (6)  retarded  pupils  of  twelve  to  fourteen  years 
of  age,  who  shall  be  arranged  in  classes  taking  such  a  com- 
bination of  manual  arts  and  academic  work  as  seems  best. 
The  promotion  to  the  junior  high  school  of  the  average  pupils 
is  approved  by  teachers  in  the  elementary  grades  because 
of  the  fact  that  it  makes  easier  their  problems  of  discipline 
and  hence  permits  of  better  teaching  for  the  normal  pupils 
who  remain. 

For  some  years  pupils  have  been  admitted  to  the  Univer- 
sity of  Wisconsin  six-year  high  school  if  they  possess  the 
ability  to  read,  write,  and  speak  simple  English  ^with  reason- 
able ease  and  accuracy,  have  good  health,  and  are  twelve 
years  of  age.  Many  other  cities  have  made  special  provision 
for  retarded  pupils  who,  being  discouraged  with  school  tasks 
or  strongly  attracted  by  opportunities  to  work,  were  on  the 
point  of  leaving.  Among  such  cities  may  be  mentioned 
Newton,  Massachusetts,  where  adjustment  classes  in  the 
Vocational  High  School  succeeded  in  returning  a  few  of  these 
pupils  to  the  regular  academic  curriculum,  sent  more  to  the 
Technical  High  School,  transferred  more  still  to  the  voca- 
tional curricula,  and  reported  that  they  held  nearly  all  the 
remainder  for  varying  periods  of  time  by  means  of  work 
convincingly  worth  while  and  adjusted  to  individual  needs. 
The  possibilities  in  such  work  are  in  proportion  to  the  will- 


ORGANIZATION  103 

ingness  of  the  school  to  abandon  its  traditional  "standards'* 
and  adjust  its  instruction  to  the  individual  pupil's  needs  and 
capacities.  The  discouragement  felt  by  backward  pupils 
when  classed  with  others  who,  though  perhaps  their  intel- 
lectual superiors,  are  in  other  respects  from  two  to  ten  years 
younger,  has  not  been  generally  and  adequately  recognized. 
One  superintendent  writes  of  this  "promotion  per  vim"'. 

It  has  permitted  the  boy  who  is  over  five  feet  six  inches  to  say,  "  I 
am  going  to  high  school."  They  like  to  say  that.  It  has  shown 
these  boys  that  all  the  school  children  in  the  city  are  not  smaller 
than  they.  It  has  enabled  them  to  walk  the  streets  on  the  way 
to  school  with  the  fellows  larger  than  themselves,  not  with  the 
little  ones. 

Douglass  l  points  out  that  California  and  Vermont,  at 
least,  legally  prescribe  for  admission  to  the  junior  high  school 
the  completion  of  the  sixth  grade.  But  in  California  this 
requirement  is  frequently  ignored.  The  practice  in  Vermont 
will  be  illustrated  by  the  following  quotation  2  from  Dr. 
Hillegas,  the  State  Commissioner  of  Education: 

In  a  number  of  cases  we  have  been  bold  enough  to  promote  stu- 
pid boys  and  girls  from  as  low  as  the  fifth  grade  directly  into  the 
junior  high  school.  Results  have  been  most  satisfactory.  In  one 
of  the  larger  junior  high  schools  considerable  groups  of  such  re- 
tarded and  incompetent  boys  and  girls  were  thus  promoted.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  second  year  new  teachers  in  the  school  were 
unable  to  select  the  pupils  thus  advanced. 

A  large  part  of  the  success  of  these  irregular  promotions 
is  due,  of  course,  to  the  provision  of  special  work  for  the 
over-age  pupils;  but  it  must  not  be  overlooked  that  there 
are  at  least  three  other  causes :  a  mastery  of  the  elementary 

1  Fifteenth  Year-Book,  p.  48.       »  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  19,  p.  343. 


104  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

work  as  usually  prescribed  is  not  invariably  essential  to  the 
successful  acquisition  of  all  later  offerings;  pupils  sometimes 
become  estopped  from  normal  progress  by  unfortunate  per- 
sonal relations  with  teachers;  and  there  is  unquestionably  a 
greater  stimulus  to  the  retarded  pupils  to  work  among  other 
boys  and  girls  of  their  own  size  and  age. 

That  there  are  in  junior  high  schools  numerous  departures 
from  the  usual  practice  of  promoting  pupils  only  when  they 
have  "successfully  completed"  the  sixth  grade  will  be  seen 
from  the  appended  table.  Of  the  250  schools  answering  the 
question  "Under  what  conditions,  if  any,  do  you  admit 
pupils  who  have  not  completed  grade  VI?"  150,  or  60  per 
cent,  reply  that  they  do  under  certain  conditions  admit 
pupils  who  are  likely  to  profit  by  the  junior-high-school 
work.  It  is  interesting  to  record  that  two  schools  have 
measured  the  ability  of  entering  pupils  to  do  this  work 
partly  by  standard  psychological  and  educational  tests. 

TABLE  XV 
CONDITIONS  FOR  ADMISSION  TO  250  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Number    Per  cent 

Completion  of  grade  6 100          40 

Other  conditions . .  . .  150          60 


Maturity  of  pupil 5*  3 

Over-age 70  47 

Over-size 3  2 

Dull  and  over-age 5  3 

According  to  individual  need 15  10 

On  recommendation  of  superintendent,  or  former 

teacher  or  principal 15  10 

Probable  ability  to  do  work 23  15 

Conditioned 40  £7 

*  As  some  schools  report  more  than  one  condition,  these  numbers  total  mo.e  than  150. 


ORGANIZATION  105 

The  North  Central  Association  has  for  several  years  ap- 
proved promotion  on  the  basis  of  individual  need;  and  Davis 
states  that 

108  school  systems,  or  36.9  per  cent  of  the  entire  293  which  made 
reports,  do  admit  pupils  to  the  junior-high-school  privileges  before 
completing  the  sixth  grade.  In  other  words,  these  schools  base  pro- 
motion on  physical  development  and  chronological  age,  as  well  as 
on  intellectual  attainments  of  a  fixed  conventional  type.1 

TABLE  XVI 

PROVISIONS  MADE  IN  161  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  FOR  PUPILS 
IRREGULARLY  PROMOTED 

Kind                                                                Number  of  schools 

Special  room  and  teacher 7 

Opportunity  rooms 1 

Batavia  work  in  weak  subjects 4 

Pupils  elect  from  program  of  studies 4 

Work  depending  on  ability 48 

Vocational  (industrial)  work 20 

Prevocational  work 2 

Manual  training  or  domestic  science 25 

One  or  more  fewer  subjects 6 

General  except  foreign  language 1 

Electives  and  extras  omitted 2 

Partly  ungraded 2 

Sciences 5 

Civics 1 

English 5 

Mathematics 3 

General  literary 1 

Commercial 1 

No  special  work 17 

No  provision  made 6 

Total 161 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  pp.  330-31. 


106  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

One  hundred  and  sixty-one  schools  reported  what  provi- 
sion they  made  for  the  pupils  irregularly  promoted  from  the 
elementary  grades.  It  will  be  seen  from  the  table  that  there 
is  a  strong  tendency  to  assign  these  pupils  to  such  work  as 
they  can  do  and  as  is  likely  to  be  of  most  value  to  them. 
After  a  few  years  a  study  should  be  made  of  the  effects  of 
these  various  provisions. 

A  problem  found  in  various  parts  of  the  country  is  the 
disposition  of  pupils  who  come  from  rural  or  parochial 
schools  with  conventional  programs  into  the  junior  high 
school  with  an  enriched  curriculum.  These  pupils  as  a  rule 
have  had  no  training  in  industrial  or  household  arts,  no  for- 
eign language,  and  only  formal  English,  arithmetic,  history, 
or  geography.  If  there  be  enough  of  these  pupils  entering 
any  junior  high  school  at  the  same  time,  the  problem  is 
easily  solved  by  making  of  them  one  class  with  the  usual 
ninth-grade  program.  When  the  number  is  smaller  than 
that  of  a  normal  class,  the  pupils  ordinarily  are  assigned  in 
the  school  wherever  the  principal  thinks  they  can  work  to 
the  best  advantage,  omitting  from  their  program  such  elec- 
tive work  as  they  cannot  profitably  take.  The  practice  of 
some  schools  of  assigning  these  pupils  to  classes  that  have 
already  continued  a  new  subject  for  from  two  to  four  semes- 
ters is  a  sad  commentary  on  the  value  attributed  to  that 
work  by  the  principal  or  to  his  concern  with  the  welfare  of 
the  new  pupils. 

The  percentages  of  pupils  from  eight-grade  elementary 
schools  and  from  parochial  schools  entering  the  ninth  grade 
of  187  junior  high  schools  are  shown  in  the  accompanying 
table.  It  appears  that  in  more  than  half  the  schools  the 


ORGANIZATION  107 

proportion  is  insignificant,  but  that  in  eighteen  the  propor- 
tion is  more  than  a  quarter  of  the  entire  ninth-grade  enroll- 
ment. 

TABLE  XVII 

PERCENTAGES  OF  NINTH-GRADE  PUPILS  ENTERING  FROM 
OTHER  EIGHT-GRADE  SCHOOLS 

Percentages                                                              Number  of  schools 

None 75 

Very  few 7 

Less  than  one  per  cent 8 

1  to  9  per  cent 44 

10  to  14.  per  cent 19 

15  to  19  per  cent 6 

20  to  24  per  cent 8 

25  to  29  per  cent 8 

30  to  34  per  cent 1 

35  to  39  per  cent 3 

60  to  64  per  cent 3 

70  to  74  per  cent 1 

75  to  79  per  cent 1 

85  to  89  per  cent 1 

"A  considerable  number" 2 

Total ,-.v. . .     187 

The  work  assigned  such  pupils  varies  considerably.  From 
the  appended  table  it  may  be  seen,  however,  that  the  effort 
in  approximately  one  seventh  of  the  schools  is  to  provide  for 
these  pupils  programs  according  to  their  needs  and  abilities; 
in  the  others  there  seems  to  be  the  old  adjustment  of  the 
pupil  rather  than  of  the  work.  In  fact,  approximately  one 
tenth  of  the  schools  provide  a  program  which  insures  a  loss 
of  time  for  these  pupils  entering  the  ninth  grade  from  outside 
schools. 


108  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  XVIII 

WORK  ASSIGNED  PUPILS  ENTERING  THE  NINTH  GRADE  OF 
JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  FROM  OTHER  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS 

Curriculum  Number  of  schools 

Regular  low  eighth  grade 1 

On  trial  in  high  eighth  grade 1 

Some  eighth-grade  work 6 

Regular  ninth  grade 96 

Classes  paralleling  high-school  work 2 

Elective 13 

Fitted  in  as  well  as  possible 6 

Special  classes 2 

Depends  on  pupil 2 

Work  necessary  to  enter  high-school  course 1 

Half-year  of  general  science 1 

Two  years  of  foreign  language 1 

Work  they  have  not  had 1 

No  foreign  language,  science,  or  manual  arts 1 

Vocational  as  far  as  possible 1 

Agriculture  or  domestic  science 2 

No  provisions  made 3 

Total 140 

Superintendent  Foster,  of  Dansville,  New  York,  has  the 
problem  of  classifying  in  his  junior  high  school  entrants  from 
parochial  schools  in  his  city.  He  writes: 

.  .  .  Two  years  ago  we  overcame  this  difficulty  to  a  large  degree 
by  making  arrangements  with  the  pastors  of  the  two  parochial 
schools  to  have  their  eighth-year  students  sent  to  our  school  the 
last  three  fourths  of  an  hour  in  the  forenoon  to  receive  the  special 
work  of  our  junior  high  school.  At  conferences  of  the  neighboring 
rural-school  teachers  which  the  district  superintendent  held  in  our 
school,  we  explained  to  the  teachers  the  situation  and  urged  them  to 
have  their  students  come  to  our  school  for  at  least  the  eighth  year. 
The  response  has  been  so  general  that  but  four  students  entering 
our  senior  high  school  this  year  lacked  any  of  the  junior  high- 
school  work.  The  result  of  the  arrangement  with  the  parochial 


ORGANIZATION  109 

schools  is  that  the  wide  gap  between  them  and  the  senior  high 
school  has  been  bridged.  The  parochial  student  has  become  used 
to  the  high  school  and  has  learned  to  like  it;  hence  he  continues 
his  work  in  high  school. 

The  articulation  in  methods  of  instruction  should  be  as 
carefully  prepared  as  that  in  subject-matter.  The  methods 
used  in  high  schools  on  the  whole  differ  rather  markedly 
from  those  most  common  in  the  grades,  and  it  would  mani- 
festly be  unwise  to  have  them  introduced  abruptly  at  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh  year.  All  experienced  and  success- 
ful teachers  tend  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  needs  of  new 
and  different  groups  of  pupils,  however,  especially  if  by 
means  of  supervision  they  have  been  led  to  instruct  pupils 
rather  than  merely  to  impart  facts  regardless  of  the  use  that 
will  be  made  of  them.  It  is  especially  important  that  they 
make  this  adjustment  in  the  junior  high  school,  where  the 
emphasis  has,  at  least  in  theory,  been  laid  on  satisfying  the 
needs  of  the  individual  pupil.  Observation  of  many  classes 
in  some  sixty  junior  high  schools  leads  to  the  conclusion 
that  generally  speaking  the  instruction  is  better  adapted  to 
the  pupils  than  it  is  in  the  first  year  of  high  schools,  but  that 
the  adaptation  has  come  largely  through  the  skill  of  the 
teachers  selected  rather  than  through  the  systematic  appli- 
cation of  a  clearly  stated  theory. 

The  project-method  of  teaching,  as  proposed  by  Dewey  l 
and  by  Kilpatrick,2  and  as  increasingly  used  in  the  lower 
grades,  was  found  to  be  approved  by  most  of  the  principals 
and  by  many  of  the  teachers  with  whom  the  matter  was  dis- 
cussed; but,  as  in  the  high  schools,  there  is  lacking  the  con- 

1  How  We  Think.  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  19,  pp.  319-35. 


110  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

slant,  time-consuming  supervision  that  is  necessary  for  suc- 
cessful performance.  It  can  be  safely  asserted,  however, 
that  more  project  teaching  may  be  found  to-day  in  the  junior 
high  schools  than  in  any  higher  institutions  except  the  grad- 
uate law  schools.  The  project  teaching  in  the  Vermont 
junior  high  schools  may  be  cited  as  illustrative  of  what  may 
be  achieved  by  professional  supervision  of  young  teachers. 
The  socialized  recitation,  too,  is  frequently  found.  It  was 
admirably  developed  in  Lincoln,  Nebraska,  by  Superintend- 
ent Fred  M.  Hunter  and  his  assistants,  and  has  been  con- 
tinued and  developed  under  Superintendent  Newlon. 

Departmentalization,  which  in  some  degree  is  common  to 
nearly  all  junior  high  schools,  is  likely  to  exert  a  strong  influ- 
ence on  teaching.  It  would  seem  to  be  a  self-evident  fact 
that  a  sudden  change  to  full  departmental  teaching  at  the 
beginning  of  the  seventh  grade  would  be  a  violation  of  the 
principle  of  articulation.  Certainly  any  bad  effects  of  sud- 
den departmentalization  at  the  beginning  of  the  ninth  grade 
are  likely  to  be  worse  if  introduced  two  years  earlier.  The 
conclusion  is  forced  upon  us  that  departmentalization  in 
the  junior  high  school,  like  other  changes  in  teaching,  should 
be  gradual.  The  argument  is  strong,  too,  that  a  number  of 
the  teachers  in  the  new  type  of  transitional  school  should 
be  recruited  from  the  intermediate  or  grammar  grades  of 
the  elementary  school.  To  what  extent  this  is  done  will 
be  reported  later.1 

A  third  phase  in  which  articulation  with  the  elementary 
grades  is  desirable  is  that  of  social  control.  Here  perhaps 
the  greatest  success  is  manifested.  The  junior  high  school 
1  Chapter  vui. 


ORGANIZATION  111 

very  generally  has  recognized  that  young  pupils  changing 
from  the  constant  oversight  of  one  teacher  to  a  departmental 
organization  need  some  particular  and  personal  direction, 
and  have  provided  for  this  in  a  variety  of  ways.1  In  some 
,^hools  the  pupils  are  introduced  gradually  to  the  larger 
freedom  of  the  high  school.  In  Ellen ville,  New  York,  the 
'pupils  when  they  come  from  the  sixth  grades  are  assigned  to 
two  small  study-rooms,  seating  about  forty-five  pupils  each 
—  the  girls  in  one,  the  boys  in  the  other.  Here  they  remain 
one  year  before  being  transferred  to  the  large  common  study 
hall.  Superintendent  Farmer,  of  Renville,  Minnesota, 
where  the  pupils  in  grades  7-8  are  segregated  from  those  in 
grade  9,  writes: 

If  conditions  had  made  it  possible,  I  would  have  placed  all  the 
pupils  of  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades  in  one  assembly 
room  under  the  principal.  Our  assembly  room  was  not  large 
enough  for  that;  so  we  placed  the  seventh  grade  in  one  room  under 
the  immediate  charge  of  the  assistant  principal  and  the  eighth 
and  ninth  grades  in  another  assembly  room  (just  across  the  hall) 
in  charge  of  the  principal.  I  now  believe  that  is  the  ideal  way  to 
arrange  this,  for  several  reasons.  (1)  It  makes  the  change  from 
the  conditions  under  which  the  pupils  have  formerly  worked  in  the 
grades  to  the  high  school  conditions,  more  gradual.  I  refer  to  the 
change  to  departmental  work  in  their  studies  and  the  new  condi- 
tions which  such  a  change  brings  about.  (2)  It  retains  these  pupils 
a  little  longer  under  the  more  personal  care  of  one  teacher,  a  con- 
dition which  I  believe  should  continue  through  this  stage  of  the  chil- 
dren's development.  These  pupils  pass  to  the  shop,  sewing-room, 
and  to  the  other  assembly  rooms  for  some  of  their  work  and  other 
teachers  come  to  them  for  some,  but  they  feel  that  they  have  their 
own  room  and  then-  own  teacher  to  whom  they  are  responsible. 
They  join  with  the  other  two  grades  in  many  general  exercises. 
(3)  It  provides  for  a  sort  of  system  of  promoting  good  teachers 

1  See  chapter  x. 


112  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

through  several  positions  and  thus  retains  them  in  the  system  longer. 
They  can  advance  from  the  assistant  principalship  of  the  junior  high 
school,  to  the  principalship  of  that  school,  and  from  there  to  the 
principalship  of  the  senior  high  school.  This  has  been  done  here. 

In  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  one  or  two  rooms  are  pro- 
vided for  the  pupils  who  cannot  adjust  themselves  readily 
to  their  new  privileges  and  responsibilities.  In  these  rooms, 
they  have  all  of  their  work  under  a  single  teacher  until  they 
manifest  their  willingness  and  ability  to  participate  in  the 
general  plan  of  the  school.  The  many  plans  used  for  social 
control  are  evidence  of  the  recognition  of  the  responsibility 
the  school  has  in  this  matter;  and  when  responsibility  is 
acknowledged  for  a  problem  of  this  kind,  the  schools  are 
very  likely  to  work  out  satisfactory  solutions. 

It  is  often  asserted  that  the  removal  of  the  grammar- 
grade  pupils  from  the  elementary  school  makes  the  work 
there,  easier,  since  the  purposes  are  less  complex  and  the 
problem  of  discipline  is  lessened.  Superintendent  Giles,  of 
Richmond,  Indiana,  where  a  form  of  the  junior  high  school 
has  been  established  for  a  number  of  years,  summarizes  l 
the  opinions  of  his  teachers  as  to  the  effect  on  the  first  six 
grades  as  follows: 

Principals  and  teachers  agree  that  the  problem  of  administra- 
tion of  the  school,  so  far  as  discipline,  supervision,  elimination,  and 
the  curriculum  are  concerned,  is  much  simplified  where  the  seventh 
and  eighth  grades  are  not  present.  On  the  more  vital  ques- 
tion of  the  educational  effect  of  older  children  associating  with  the 
younger,  the  decision  still  lies  with  segregation,  unless  there  should 
be  reorganization  along  the  lines  of  the  Gary  plan.  .  .  .  Public- 
school  sentiment  in  Richmond  favors  segregation. 

1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  3,  p.  274. 


ORGANIZATION  113 

District  Superintendent  Taylor,  of  New  York  City,  points 
out 1  an  effect  of  the  junior  high  school  on  the  abbreviated 
elementary  schools,  an  effect  which  so  far  as  it  prevails  is 
likely  to  be  found  only  in  the  larger  cities.  He  states  that 
in  New  York  "many  progressive  teachers  avoid"  the  six- 
year  elementary  school,  "since  they  know  that,  to  secure 
the  higher  salaries  "  paid  to  teachers  with  special  licenses  to 
teach  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  "they  will  have  to 
go  elsewhere.  Principals  also  shun  such  schools.  .  .  .  New 
teachers  refuse  to  go  to  these  schools."  It  has  also  been 
argued  that  it  is  unfair  to  take  from  the  elementary  schools 
the  best  and  more  ambitious  teachers  to  make  junior  high 
schools  successful.  To  remedy  such  conditions  among 
others,  Bagley  proposes  that  all  teachers  in  public  schools 
be  similarly  trained  and  similarly  paid. 

C.  RELATION  TO  THE  SENIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 
When  the  junior  high  school  is  discussed,  some  one  almost 
invariably  makes  a  prophecy  that  its  establishment  will  open 
a  gap  in  the  school  system  between  the  ninth  and  tenth 
grades.  This  prophecy  has  to  an  extent  been  fulfilled, 
especially  in  cities  where  the  junior  and  senior  high  schools 
are  in  separate  buildings  and  under  different  management. 
The  fact  that  the  gap  is,  or  may  be,  moved  upward  one  year 
is  to  the  credit  of  the  junior  high  school;  but  it  is  highly 
desirable  that  there  be  as  few  interruptions  as  possible  to 
the  progress  of  those  fortunate  pupils  who  can  go  forward 
for  further  study. 

The  gap  between  junior  and  senior  high  schools  is  not  a 
1  New  York  Globe  and  Commercial  Advertiser,  February  15,  1918. 


114  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

necessity  inherent  in  the  new  organization;  it  is  caused  pri- 
marily by  a  failure  on  the  part  of  the  administration  to 
secure  an  understanding  by  the  teachers  of  the  proper  rela- 
tions between  the  two  institutions.  In  so  far  as  the  junior 
high  school  gives  the  final  education  to  pupils  going  prema- 
turely to  work,  it  has  no  relations  with  the  senior  school; 
in  so  far  as  it  sends  its  pupils  on  for  advanced  study,  it  as- 
sumes and  demands  obligations,  which  must  be  clearly  seen 
to  be  fulfilled.  The  gap  may  be  minimized  if  the  schools 
articulate  with  respect  to  plans  for  admission  to  the  senior 
high  school,  distribution  of  subject-matter,  transition  in 
methods  of  teaching,  and  in  social  control. 

About  the  method  of  admission  of  junior-high-school 
pupils  into  the  senior  high  school  we  find  a  contest  similar 
to  that  which  has  existed  between  the  high  school  and  the 
college  for  years  past.  The  junior  institution  demands  the 
right  "to  do  what  is  best"  for  its  pupils  and  at  the  end  of 
its  curriculum  send  them  into  the  higher  school  without 
examination;  the  senior  institution  to  a  degree  admits  this 
right  providing  that  it  may  designate  the  studies  of  the  lower 
school,  approve  its  work  by  inspection,  and  reject  its  gradu- 
ates if  they  cannot  satisfactorily  do  the  advanced  work.  But 
so  far  machinery  has  seldom  been  provided  the  higher 
school  either  for  supervising  the  junior-high-school  work  or 
even  for  knowing  definitely  and  fully  what  it  is.  If  the 
program  of  exploration,  proposed  in  chapter  u,  is  accepted 
for  the  junior  high  school,  the  senior  institution  will  receive 
its  pupils  already  intelligently  segregated  for  its  curricula, 
and  thus  will  be  enabled  to  make  a  better  contribution  than 
formerly  to  each  group.  If  such  a  program  is  not  accepted, 


ORGANIZATION  115 

we  shall  probably  have  the  contest  between  the  two  schools 
3till  further  accentuated. 

In  1918  the  North  Central  Association  voted  to  recom- 
mend the  following  admission  requirements  for  the  senior 
high  school: 

a.  All  pupils  who  complete  the  work  of  the  junior  high  school 
should  be  admitted  to  the  senior  high  school. 

6.  Pupils  who  have  spent  two  years  in  the  junior  high  school 
and  have  shown  superior  ability  both  as  to  quality  of  the 
work  done  and  the  quantity  accomplished,  should  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  senior  high  school. 

c.  Over-age  pupils  who  have  not  completed  the  junior  high 
school  should  be  admitted  to  the  senior  high  school  if  it 
appears  that  their  educational  needs  can  be  better  met  in 
the  senior  high  school. 

Under  conditions  as  they  have  developed,  114  of  the  284 
junior  high  schools  answering  the  question  regarding  admis- 
sion, give  a  final  examination  to  pupils  before  promoting 
them  to  the  senior  high  schools.  It  is  probable  that  some 
principals  returning  the  questionnaire  had  in  mind  the  regu- 
lar term  examinations  and  that  therefore  the  per  cent  of 
schools  setting  a  formal  final  examination  is  really  smaller 
than  forty.  There  is  just  as  much  reason  for  giving  a  final 
comprehensive  examination  at  the  end  of  the  junior  high 
school  as  at  any  other  period;  but  there  is  no  evidence  that 
such  an  examination  is  more  necessary  here  than  elsewhere. 
If  the  junior  high  school  should  have  a  final  comprehensive 
examination,  so  should  the  senior  high  school  and  the  college. 

Formal  graduation  from  schools  is  said  by  some  to  aid 
retention  up  to  the  end  of  the  course,  but  to  facilitate  elimi- 
nation before  a  new  course  in  a  new  school  begins.  In  so 


116  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

far  as  this  is  true,  graduating  exercises  would  be  good  for 
those  pupils  who  are  leaving  school  early  for  work  and  bad 
for  those  who  are  uncertain  about  continuing  in  school  for 
advanced  study.  Of  the  279  junior  high  schools  reporting 
on  this  item,  126,  or  45.2  per  cent,  emphasize  the  completion 
of  their  curricula  by  holding  graduation  exercises.  In  the 
North  Central  territory,  according  to  Davis,  completion  of 
the  curricula  is  much  less  frequently  so  emphasized;  the 
Springfield  study  found  that  36  per  cent  of  81  junior  high 
schools  hold  some  sort  of  graduation  exercises. 

So  far  as  is  known  every  high  school  receives,  on  the 
recommendation  of  the  junior  high  school,  pupils  who  have 
completed  one  of  the  intermediate  curricula.  Difficulties 
occur  when  a  pupil  is  promoted  with  a  failure  in  some  sub- 
ject that  he  desires  to  continue,  when  he  claims  advanced 
credit,  or  when  by  trial  he  proves  unable  to  continue  satis- 
factorily the  high-school  work  that  he  elects  or  to  which  he 
is  assigned. 

If  the  senior  high  schools  had  strictly  three-year  curricula, 
it  would  prove  embarrassing  for  pupils  who  on  entrance 
needed  one  or  more  courses  which  they  might  have  taken 
in  the  junior  school.  (The  colleges  frequently  complain  of 
the  necessity  of  offering  beginning  courses  in  modern  foreign 
languages  for  students  who  did  not  elect  French,  German, 
or  Spanish  in  high  school.)  But  many  senior  high  schools 
that  are  separated  from  the  one  or  more  contributing  junior 
high  schools  have  a  number  of  ninth-grade  pupils;  conse- 
quently it  is  not  difficult  for  them  to  arrange  a  program  for  a 
pupil  who,  classified  in  the  tenth  grade  or  higher,  needs  a 
ninth-grade  subject.  To  the  question,  "Does  the  senior 


ORGANIZATION  117 

high  school  offer  classes  in  all  elementary  subjects  that  a 
promoted  student  may  have  failed  to  pass?  "  there  were  138 
answers  from  places  where  the  junior  and  senior  schools  are 
in  separate  buildings.  Thirty-one,  or  22.5  per  cent,  are 
reported  as  offering  all  such  elementary  courses;  but  78,  or 
58  per  cent,  do  not  offer  any  of  the  ninth-grade  work  at  all. 
The  remaining  schools  seem  to  offer  such  courses  as  are  most 
needed. 

Almost  all  the  senior  high  schools  unquestioningly  accept 
the  junior  high-school  recommendations  for  advanced  credit. 
Of  262  schools  that  reported  on  this  topic,  only  16,  or  6  per 
cent,  say  that  their  recommendations  are  not  approved. 
There  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  this  proportion  is  larger 
among  the  schools  that  did  not  report  —  most  of  them, 
probably,  because  the  issue  had  not  yet  been  raised. 

The  amount  of  advanced  credit  carried  to  the  high  school 
is  not  large  —  usually,  I  estimate,  about  two  units  in  addi- 
tion to  the  four  normally  earned  in  the  ninth  grade.  As 
a  rule  one  year's  high-school  credit  is  given  for  secondary 
subjects  successfully  taken  in  both  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades.  This  proportion  seems  to  have  been  arrived  at  by 
computing  the  total  amount  of  time  given  to  these  subjects 
and  by  making  allowance  for  the  immaturity  of  the  pupils 
rather  than  by  measuring  their  achievements.  As  more 
satisfactory  tests  are  devised  for  the  secondary-school  sub- 
jects, standard  achievements  are  likely  to  be  generally  de- 
manded. In  such  subjects  as  mathematics  and  Latin  it  is 
entirely  feasible  to  set  up  such  standards  at  the  present  time. 
Occasionally  credit  is  given  in  high  school  according  to  the 
mark  earned  by  the  pupil  in  his  previous  study  of  a  subject. 


118 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


In  Cleveland,  for  instance,  pupils  who  earned  in  the  grammar 
grades  a  mark  of  75  to  100  in  German  were  advanced  in  that 
subject  to  the  third-term  class;  those  who  earned  60  to  74 
were  advanced  one  term;  and  the  others  began  German  over 
again.  Table  XIX  shows  the  credits  assigned  in  Los 
Angeles  to  secondary-school  subjects  taken  in  the  inter- 
mediate schools: 

TABLE  XIX 
HIGH-SCHOOL  CREDITS  FOB  JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL  WORK 


Subject 

Low 
VII 

High 
VII 

Low 
VIII 

Hiah 
VIII 

Loio 
IX 

High 
IX 

Algebra  

\ 

1 

1 

Ancient  history  

1 

1 

Bookkeeping  

| 

| 

i 

1 

\ 

\ 

Commercial  arithmetic.  . 
Cookery  

I 
1 

1 

i 

English      

1 

1 

Freehand  drawing  
French  

v 

v 

I 

1 

i 
i 

i 

i 

Geometry  

i 

German  

I 

£ 

i 

i 

i 

i 

Latin  

I 

i 

1 

i 

i 

Mechanical  drawing  .... 
Music  

! 

i 

i 
\ 

Glee  club  or  orchestra.  .  . 
Oral  English  

; 

* 

Penmanship  

A 

J  _ 

I 

Physiography  

1 

i 

Sewing  

1 

i 

i 

| 

I 

I 

Spanish       

i 

'.; 

1 

i 

Stenography  

I 

1 

1 

1 

i 

Woodwork  

1 

& 

i 

Credit  for  outside  work  is  occasionally  allowed,  thus 
advancing  a  pupil  toward  graduation.  There  are  a  number 
of  cities  —  for  instance,  Lewiston,  Idaho  —  that  have  pre- 
pared rules  and  a  syllabus  for  music  studied  under  private 


ORGANIZATION  119 

teachers;  and  several  reports  state  that  if  provisions  are 
definitely  made  beforehand  for  this  credit,  the  plan  has 
worked  very  satisfactorily. 

The  articulation  of  subject-matter  has  been  attempted 
chiefly  by  introducing  into  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades, 
usually  as  electives,  foreign  languages,  English  composition 
and  "classics,"  commercial  courses,  shop-work  for  boys  and 
household  arts  for  girls,  with,  less  frequently,  general  science 
and  composite  mathematics.  As  textbooks  in  these  subjects 
had  not  up  to  1916  been  satisfactorily  prepared  for  pupils 
of  twelve  to  fourteen  years  of  age,  the  junior  high  schools 
were  under  a  serious  handicap,  which  was  materially  in- 
creased by  the  paucity  of  adequately  trained  teachers. 
Pioneering  in  education,  no  less  than  in  other  fields,  requires 
unusual  ability  and  time,  and  seldom  were  the  junior-high- 
school  teachers  given  light  schedules  so  that  they  might 
adapt  to  the  needs  of  young  pupils  courses  worked  out  for 
older  ones.  The  achievement  is  a  tribute  to  the  ingenuity, 
resourcefulness,  and  energy  of  those  teachers  who  without 
adequate  preparation  or  time,  but  inspired  with  an  ideal, 
attempted,  usually  with  little  or  no  direction,  the  adaptation 
of  material.  Frequently  in  newly  established  junior  high 
schools  an  individual  teacher  was  found  who  despite  obsta- 
cles was  doing  most  satisfactory  pioneer  work,  but  seldom 
was  there  evidence  that  through  careful  planning  the  whole 
corps  had  adapted  material  to  the  younger  pupils  or  even 
understood  the  fundamental  principles  by  which  they 
should  attempt  the  task.  The  responsibility  for  this  failure 
in  most  cases  should  be  laid  on  the  superintendent  of  schools, 
who  usually  excuses  himself  on  the  grounds  of  cost.  This 


120  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

unfortunate  situation  has  considerably  improved  since  1916. 
Several  States  —  notably  New  York  and  Vermont  —  and  a 
number  of  cities  —  for  example,  Rochester,  Boston,  Grand 
Rapids,  and  Neodesha  —  have  prepared  syllabi  for  the 
various  subjects  taught  in  the  junior  high  school. 

In  the  future  the  articulation  of  the  junior  with  the 
senior  high  schools  in  respect  to  subject-matter  is  likely  to 
be  made  considerably  closer  by  the  textbooks  that  are  now 
being  prepared  in  considerable  numbers  for  the  younger 
pupils.  The  danger,  of  course,  is  that  many  of  these  books 
will  be  slight  adaptations  of  older  texts  that  have  been  used 
in  the  conventional  grammar  grades  and  in  the  high  schools, 
and  that  the  revision  will  not  be  based  on  clear  and  sound 
conceptions  of  what  the  junior  high  school  is  intended  to 
accomplish.  But  a  study  of  the  texts  issued  shows  distinct 
improvement;  they  are  on  the  whole  more  progressive  than 
texts  prepared  for  any  other  grade  of  pupils. 

When  satisfactory  courses  in  the  various  subjects  of 
secondary  education  have  been  worked  out  for  the  junior 
high  schools,  it  will  be  necessary  for  the  senior  high  schools 
to  make  corresponding  adjustments  in  their  courses  in  these 
subjects.  This  they  have  not  yet  done.  What  kind  of  work 
and  how  much,  for  instance,  will  be  offered  to  pupils  who 
are  promoted  to  the  tenth  grade  with  two  years'  sound  credit 
in  a  foreign  language?  Will  this  class  of  pupils  stimulate 
the  upward  extension  .of  the  high  school  into  a  junior  col- 
lege? Will  they  be  given  the  conventional  amount  of  the 
subject  and  fill  their  programs  with  other  electives?  Or  will 
they  be  graduated  from  the  senior  high  school  at  an  earlier 
age?  There  are  many  similar  questions  that  must  be  an- 


ORGANIZATION  121 

swered  in  the  preparation  of  a  program  that  will  promise  a 
close  articulation  of  all  the  units  of  our  educational  system.1 

The  articulation  of  junior  and  senior  schools  by  means  of 
adjustments  in  methods  of  teaching  seems  to  have  in  it  great 
possibilities;  and  in  the  majority  of  classes  visited  there  was 
used  a  method  intermediate  between  that  of  the  more  ele- 
mentary grades  and  that  of  the  senior  high  school.  In 
most  instances,  however,  the  modification  of  method  was 
apparently  due  more  to  the  common-sense  adjustment  of  a 
teacher  to  the  needs  of  the  type  of  pupils  with  whom  he  was 
constantly  thrown  and  to  the  circumstances  of  departmental- 
ization than  to  any  consciousness  of  a  program  of  articula- 
tion. Perhaps  this  is  altogether  as  it  should  be.  Usually 
on  visiting  a  class  it  was  not  difficult  to  guess  whether  the 
teacher's  previous  experience  had  been  in  higher  or  in  lower 
grades,  for  whatever  adjustment  there  is  usually  leaves 
much  of  the  influence  of  former  experience.  Many  junior 
high  schools  that  are  in  the  same  buildings  with  elementary 
or  with  higher  grades  share  the  teachers;  others  are  on  the 
same  campus,  so  that  either  pupils  or  teachers  may  go  from 
building  to  building  for  work.  In  these  cases  teachers  tend 
to  continue  the  type  of  method  throughout  their  work, 
differing  in  their  degrees  of  adaptability.  Youngstown, 
Ohio,  is  said  to  have  coordinating  teachers,  and  the  plan 
used  at  Rochester  tends  to  unify  the  methods  of  teaching.2 

Two  hundred  and  fifteen  junior  high  schools  answered  the 
question,  "In  what  per  cent  of  the  subjects  is  there  active 

1  For  data  concerning  the  continuance  of  subjects  elected  in  the  junior 
high  school,  «ee  chapter  xni. 
•  Seepage  123f. 


m  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

supervision  by  a  representative  of  the  senior  high  school?" 
In  131,  or  60.9  per  cent,  there  is  no  such  supervision;  in  20, 
or  9.3  per  cent,  the  supervision  is  in  fewer  than  half  the  sub- 
jects; in  42,  or  19.5  per  cent,  it  is  in  more  than  half;  in  19  it  is 
in  "a  few  subjects,"  and  in  three  it  is  in  foreign  languages 
only. 

Davis  reports  that  in  the  293  North  Central  junior  high 
schools  27  per  cent  have  supervision  by  the  superintendent 
alone,  57  per  cent  by  the  junior  high-school  principal,  24.6 
per  cent  by  the  senior  high-school  principal,  and  6.5  per  cent 
by  "others."  As  the  total  percentage  is  considerably  over 
100,  it  is  evident  that  a  number  of  the  schools  —  how  many 
we  are  not  told  —  have  supervision  by  more  than  one 
official.  The  Springfield  study  reports  that  teaching  is 
supervised  by  the  junior-high-school  principal  in  58  cases, 
by  the  senior- high-school  principal  in  17,  by  the  superintend- 
ent or  his  assistant  in  60,  by  the  heads  of  senior-high-school 
departments  in  8,  by  the  heads  of  junior-high-school  de- 
partments in  11,  and  by  general  supervisors  of  elementary 
and  junior  high  schools  in  25.  As  the  report  does  not  state 
how  many  of  the  88  schools  questioned  —  six  of  them  having 
the  6-6  plan  —  returned  answers  to  this  item,  the  figures 
cannot  be  turned  into  percentages. 

It  cannot  be  claimed  that  practice  in  the  matter  of  articu- 
lating the  junior  and  senior  schools  by  means  of  supervision 
is  satisfactory.  The  junior  high  school  has  one  obligation 
to  pupils  who  will  not  continue  their  education  further,  and 
with  its  program  and  practice  for  these  pupils  the  senior 
high  school  has  only  a  fraternal  concern;  it  has  another 
obligation  when  it  undertakes  to  sort  pupils  and  prepare 


ORGANIZATION  123 

them  to  pursue  satisfactorily  the  courses  offered  by  the 
higher  institution,  and  with  its  program  and  practice  for 
these  pupils  the  high  school  has  or  should  have  a  direct 
responsibility.  It  may  be  that  the  junior  high  school  should 
adapt  its  courses  to  the  curricula  for  which  it  prepares;  it 
may  be  that  the  senior  high  school  should  modify  its  courses 
to  complement  the  earlier  work:  it  is  more  probable,  how- 
ever, that  each  school  should  make  some  changes  so  as  to 
secure  the  desired  satisfactory  articulation.  This  is  likely 
to  result  only  from  definite  provisions  for  extended  confer- 
ences and  constant  supervision,  which  though  costly  in  time 
and  money  are  certain  to  be  educationally  economical. 

The  relation  between  the  social  control  of  pupils  in  the 
junior  high  school  and  that  in  the  senior  high  school  is  close. 
By  and  large,  junior  high  schools  tend  to  give  to  their  pupils 
a  better  and  more  gradual  increase  in  self-control  and  in 
extra-curricular  activities,  and  therefore  senior  high  schools 
have  a  basis  on  which  to  build  when  the  pupils  are  promoted. 
As  will  be  shown  elsewhere,  the  relations  in  this  respect  be- 
tween the  intermediate  and  the  high  school  are  more  satis- 
factory on  the  whole  than  those  between  the  intermediate 
and  the  elementary  school. 

Rochester,  New  York,  is  conspicuous  for  its  careful  plan- 
ning for  its  junior  high  schools  and  their  articulation  with 
the  elementary  and  higher  grades.  For  a  year  before  the 
establishment  of  the  Washington  Junior  High  School  Satur- 
day classes  were  held  for  the  training  of  teachers  who  were 
candidates  for  positions  in  the  new  school.  Many  of  those 
who  were  selected  attended  during  the  summer  some  college 
or  university  for  further  preparation.  The  Washington 


124  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Junior  High  School  was  assigned  two  principals  who  had 
had  successful  experience  in  elementary  schools,  one  for 
general  administration  and  one  for  working  out  with  the 
teachers  courses  of  study  and  for  the  supervision  of  instruc- 
tion. In  addition,  from  the  two  high  schools  heads  of  the 
departments  of  English,  modern  foreign  languages,  Latin, 
mathematics,  and  science  were  assigned  to  the  junior  high 
school  for  about  half  their  time,  to  supervise  the  instruction 
and  to  work  with  the  teachers  in  developing  courses  of  study 
consonant  with  the  aims  of  the  school  and  suitable  to  the 
capacities  of  the  pupils.  To  acquire  an  appreciation  of  the 
problems  these  heads  of  departments  also  taught  one  or 
more  of  the  classes.  One  assistant  superintendent  and  the 
supervisors  of  industrial  work  also  gave  much  time  to  the 
school.  This  program  was,  of  course,  expensive  in  the 
amount  of  money  required,  but  it  was  at  the  same  time 
educationally  economical  in  that  it  resulted  in  carefully  pre- 
pared courses  in  all  of  the  subjects  of  study  and  a  corps  of 
teachers  trained  to  understand  the  fundamental  purposes  of 
the  school  and  to  administer  the  courses.  These  courses 
are  now  ready  for  the  new  junior  high  schools  to  be  built, 
and  from  the  corps  teachers  may  be  drawn  to  form  the 
nuclei  in  the  new  schools. 

An  illustration  of  a  very  different  type  of  "economical 
program,"  unfortunately  far  more  typical  in  the  establish- 
ment of  junior  high  schools,  is  that  followed  by  one  of  our 
largest  cities.  Several  junior  high  schools  were  established 
almost  overnight,  chiefly  through  the  insistence  of  ambitious 
elementary-school  principals  that  they  be  allowed  to  add  a 
ninth  grade  in  their  buildings,  partly  "to  provide  for  the 


ORGANIZATION  125 

pupils  of  the  neighborhood  "  and  partly  "to  relieve  the  over- 
crowded high  schools."  The  assistant  superintendent  in 
charge,  being  more  than  busy  with  another  important  phase 
of  the  school  system,  had  little  time  to  give  to  the  so-called 
'*  junior  high  schools."  Each  principal,  with  or  without  the 
cooperation  of  his  teachers,  prepared  for  his  school  curricula, 
which  were  pro  forma  approved  by  the  superintendent  in 
charge.  The  courses  of  study  were  largely  left  to  the  indi- 
vidual teachers,  who  too  frequently  attempted  merely  to 
follow  texts  prepared  for  older  pupils.  Teachers  or  princi- 
pals on  their  own  initiative  sought  the  advice  of  the  high 
schools,  but  there  was  no  serious  attempt  made  to  postulate 
and  popularize  fundamental  principles  for  the  junior  high- 
school  work,  to  develop  and  coordinate  the  courses,  to  ex- 
tend to  other  schools  practice  proved  successful  in  any  one, 
or  to  articulate  the  work  with  that  of  the  higher  receiving 
schools.  Moreover,  the  teachers  assigned  to  the  ninth- 
grade  work  all  had  to  be  drawn  from  those  already  in  charge 
of  seventh-  and  eighth-grade  classes,  regardless  of  the  ade- 
quacy of  their  training  in  the  subjects  assigned  them.  In 
one  instance  a  teacher  undertook  a  subject  that  she  had  not 
studied  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century.  It  will  occa- 
sion no  surprise  when  we  learn  that  pupils  from  these 
"junior  high  schools  made  poor  records  when  given  a  central 
examination  or  when  they  were  transferred  to  the  tenth 
grade."  But  in  spite  of  these  handicaps,  the  junior  high 
schools  seem  to  have  succeeded  in  this  city  in  developing  a 
desirable  esprit  de  corps,  in  holding  pupils,  and  in  inspiring 
them  to  greater  ambition.  The  experience  of  the  past  few 
years  should  convince  this  city  as  well  as  others  of  the  econ- 


126  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

omy  of  an  initial  expense  for  overhead  to  provide  adequately 
a  program  that  will  lead  to  a  satisfactory  articulation  with 
the  senior  high  school  and  with  the  demands  of  the  outside 


A.  DEPARTMENTAL  TEACHING 

THE  arguments  concerning  departmental  teaching  have  been 
collected  from  a  number  of  sources  and  set  down  below  in  a 
rough  apposition  of  the  positive  and  negative.  This  display 
is  more  or  less  academic,  however,  as  the  great  majority  of 
schools  recognized  as  "progressive"  have  already  accepted 
some  form  of  departmentalization  for  the  upper  grades;  in 
fact,  in  order  to  secure  for  pupils  such  advantages  as  these 
schools  attempt  to  provide,  it  is  an  absolute  necessity.  The 
only  real  questions  to-day  are  how  far  down  in  the  grades  it 
should  extend  and  how  gradually  it  should  be  introduced. 

ARGUMENTS  FOB  ARGUMENTS  AGAINST 

I.  Concerning  the  administration 

1.  As  special  equipment  and  illus-  1.  It    increases    the    difficulty    of 
trative  matter  are  needed  only  organization  and  administration, 
for  rooms  in  which  the  subjects  especially  as  regards  the  making 
demanding    them    are    taught,  of  the  program  of  recitations, 
money  is  saved  which  may  be 

expended  for  more  and  better 
equipment. 

2.  It  makes  possible  the  use  of  spe-      2.  The  program  cannot  be  altered 
cial  teachers  —  of  music,  for  ex-  to  provide  extra  time  for  unusu- 
ample  —  without  disrupting  the  ally  difficult  lessons, 
program  or  causing  the  regular 

teacher  to  be  idle. 
8.  It  tends  to  guarantee  to  each  sub- 
ject the  time  assigned  to  it  in  the 
program. 


128 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


It  enables  the  supervisor  to  fix 
the  responsibility  for  the  work 
accomplished  in  a  subject. 


6.  It  facilitates  the  promotion  of 
pupils  by  subjects. 

8.  It  facilitates  the  special  promo- 
tion or  demotion  of  an  individual 
pupil  according  to  his  need. 

7.  It  simplifies  and  makes  more 
effective  the  task  of  supervision. 

8.  It  tends  to  lessen  the  gap  be- 
tween the  elementary  school  and 
the  high  school. 


3.  It  makes  more  difBcult  the  task 
of  placing  responsibility  for  poor 
teaching. 

4.  It  results  in  confusion  in  detain- 
ing pupils  after  school,  unless  it 
is  agreed  that  each  department 
may  detain  on  only  one  after- 
noon each  week. 

5.  In    the    departmental    system 
marks  are  not  proportionately 
coordinated. 

6.  Uncoordinated  teachers  tend  to 
overwork  the  pupils. 


II.  Concerning  the  teaching 


9.  It    attracts    better    prepared 
teachers  to  work  in  the  grades. 

10.  It  enables  a  teacher  to  make 
more     thorough     preparation, 
both   generally   and  for   each 
day's  lessons. 

11.  It  stimulates  interest  and  so  en- 
courages preparation,  both  gen- 
eral and  detailed. 

12.  It  results  in  economy  of  prepa- 
ration, in  that  all  teachers  do 
not  have  to  prepare  in  all  sub- 
jects. 

13.  It  enables  a  school  to  secure 
good  teaching  for  all  subjects. 

14.  It  results  in  greater  interest  by 
teachers  and  hence  better  work. 

15.  Teachers  are  stimulated  to  bet- 
ter work  by  a  knowledge  that 
they  are  compared  daily  by  the 
pupils  with  the  other  teachers. 

16.  It  prevents  waste  of  time  due  to 
readjustments,  useless  reviews, 
lack  of  knowledge  of  quantity 
and  quality  of  work  previously 


7.  It  tends  to  make  teachers  nar- 
rowed specialists,  interested  in  a 
special  subject  without  reference 
to  its  interrelations. 

8.  If  exigencies  demand  that  the  de- 
partmental teacher  teach  some- 
thing other  than  his  own  subject, 
he  will  do  it  half-heartedly. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    189 


done.  (Note  the  assumption 
that  the  same  departmental 
teacher  has  the  pupils  for  two 
or  more  successive  terms.) 


III.  Concerning  the  pupils 


17.  Variety   of   teachers   with    all 
their  characteristics,  of  meth- 
ods, of  rooms,  and  of  general 
conditions,  results  in  increased 
interest  and  consequently  bet- 
ter work. 

18.  The   influence   of   an   unusual 
teacher  —  unusually    good    or 
unusually  bad  —  is  not  confined 
to  a  small  group  of  pupils. 

19.  Because  of  variety,  physical  re- 
lief through  changing  from  room 
to  room,  better  teaching  and 
greater  interest,  the  problem  of 
discipline  is  lessened. 

20.  Because  greater  responsibility 
is  placed  on  pupils,  they  develop 
greater  initiative  and  self-reli- 
ance. 

21.  Children  will  be  healthier   as 
the  school   organization   itself 
provides    for    frequent    move- 
ment. 

22.  A  pupil  will  be  understood  bet- 
ter and  hence  receive  better  ad- 
vice concerning  his  social,  edu- 
cational, and  vocational  needs, 
for  — 

a.  Among    all    his    teachers    a 
pupil  is  likely  to  find  at  least 
one  who  will  understand  him 
and  to  whom  he  will  talk 
freely  about  himself; 

b.  Contact  with  a  pupil  for  two 
or  more  terms  through  one 
subject  gives  a  teacher  a  bet- 
ter knowledge  of  that  pupil 


9.  Pupils  are  confused  in  adjusting 
themselves  to  several  teachers. 


10.  Confusion  in  changing  classes 
and  lack  of  definite  responsibil- 
ity for  a  group  of  pupils  by  any 
teacher  result  in  poor  discipline. 

11.  Pupils  are  too  immature  for  the 
amount  of  responsibility  and 
self-direction  they  must  assume. 


12.  The  personal  influence  of  the 
teacher  is  lost  or  dissipated. 

13.  No  one  assumes  responsibility 
for  such  matter*  as  penmanship, 
•pelling,  oral  expression,  etc., 
and  hence  in  them  pupils  do  not 
improve  as  they  should. 


ISO  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

than  contact  through  all  sub- 
jects for  one  term  would; 
c.  By  means  of  frequent  con- 
ferences all  teachers  of  a  pu- 
pil may  pool  their  knowledge 
of  him. 

23.  A  pupil  is  benefited  by  contact 
with  the  varying  personal  influ- 
ences exerted  by  several  teach- 
ers, since  this  is  most  like  the 
influences  of  life. 

IV.  Concerning  the  curricula  and  courses  of  study 

24.  It  makes  possible  the  expansion  14.  The  pure  departmentalist  is  a 
and  enrichment  of  the  curricu-  distinct  hindrance  to  the  con- 
lum  and  courses  of  study.  struction  of  a  rational  curricu- 

25.  It  results  in  a  greater  degree  of  lum. 

coherence    and    unity    in    the      15.  In  a  departmental  system  of 
course  of  study  for  each  subject.  teaching  the  correlation  of  suh- 

26.  It   enables   the  supervisor  or  jects  is  almost  impossible, 
administrator  to  secure  coher- 
ence and  unity  in  the  entire 

curriculum  as  well. 

One  of  the  serious  arguments  against  departmental  teach- 
ing is  that  an  individual  pupil  going  from  one  teacher  to 
another  for  recitations  may  not  have  sufficient  personal 
attention.  The  evidence  shows  that  this  condition  is  likely 
to  result,  especially  for  a  pupil  who  is  not  for  some  reason 
conspicuous,  unless  the  departmental  organization  is  sup- 
plemented by  an  adequate  system  of  personal  advisers.  On 
the  work  of  the  advisers  no  less  than  on  the  administration 
of  the  principal,  the  success  of  the  departmental  organiza* 
tion  seems  to  depend.  Twenty-three,  or  13.5  per  cent  of 
170  schools  replying  on  this  item  report  a  tendency  in 
departmentalization  to  lose  track  of  the  pupil. 

It  has  often  been  stated  that  one  of  the  reasons  why  the 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    131 

gap  exists  between  the  elementary  and  the  high  schools  is 
that  in  the  latter  full  departmental  teaching  is  abruptly 
begun.  If  this  abrupt  change  is  bad  at  the  end  of  the  eighth 
grade,  it  must  be  worse  if  introduced  two  years  earlier,  at 
the  beginning  of  the  junior-high-school  period.  The  cure 
for  a  bad  condition  would  seem  to  be  the  gradual  introduc- 
tion of  the  desired  or  necessary  departmental  teaching,  a 
beginning  being  made  in  the  "special  subjects"  perhaps  as 
early  as  the  third  grade,  with  an  extension  to  the  academic 
subjects  in  the  seventh  year.  Full  departmentalization  is 
not  likely  to  be  necessary  or  wholly  desirable  before  the 
ninth  grade. 

Many  schools,  when  elementary  or  higher  grades  are 
housed  with  the  intermediate  grades,  use  departmental 
teachers  to  bind  the  lower  and  the  higher  units  more  closely 


Grade 

1  1  i  {  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1  1 

E      S     ,2             n*Saa«oa.£«rt 
e    H    S     Q     ^gtfwweWSWOJ 

X 

1 

IX 

VIII 

VII 

-                               "t1 

VI 

V 

IV 

III 

1 

II 

I 

. 

FIG.  2.  SHOWING  THE  ASSIGNMENT*  or  TEACHERS  AT  VINTON,  IOWA. 


132 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


together.  An  illustration  of  how  this  is  effectual  may  be 
seen  in  the  appended  diagram,  which  shows  the  assignment 
of  the  teachers  in  the  school  at  Vinton,  Iowa. 

From  Table  XX  it  may  be  seen  that  among  the  junior 
high  schools  which  report  on  this  topic,  some  form  of 
departmentalization  is  very  general.  This  table  is  to  be 
read:  "Of  the  196  junior  high  schools  reporting  on  this 
topic,  9  have  from  one  to  10  per  cent  of  their  teachers  teach- 
ing one  subject;  17  have  from  11-20  per  cent  teaching  one 

TABLE  XX 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  HAVING  VARIOUS 
PVR  CENTS  OF  THEIR  STAFFS  TEACHING  ONE,  TWO,  OR  MoRB 
SUBJECTS 


Teaching 

One  subject 

Two  subjects 

Three  or  mtre  subjects 

1-10  

9 

17 

22 

11-20  

17 

36 

16 

21-30       

82 

37 

21 

81-40  

29 

29 

9 

41-50  

26 

32 

12 

51-60   

16 

14 

11 

61-70  

13 

13 

7 

71-80  

30 

15 

6 

81-90  

11 

6 

2 

91-100  

13 

8 

21 

Total  

196 

207 

127 

Median  

41-50 

31-40 

81-40 

SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    133 

subject,  etc.  ...  Of  the  207  schools  reporting,  17  have  1-10 
per  cent  of  their  teachers  teaching  two  subjects;  etc."  Al- 
though the  figures  in  these  columns  are  not  comparable, 
because  of  the  fact  that  the  same  number  of  principals 
did  not  answer  all  of  the  questions,  they  show  clearly  that 
the  tendency  is  toward  a  large  amount  of  departmental 
teaching. 

Davis  found  that  of  the  285  junior  high  schools  in  the 
17  States  of  the  North  Central  Association,  97.26  per  cent 
have  some  degree  of  departmental  organization,  and  the 
Springfield  Report  found  a  similar  percentage. 

Of  the  256  principals  expressing  a  preference,  132,  or  51.6 
per  cent,  accept  as  ideal  for  grade  8  full  departmentaliza- 
tion; while  124,  or  48.4  per  cent,  prefer  as  an  ideal  partial 
departmentalization.  The  sharp  difference  in  opinion  is  due 
largely,  no  doubt,  to  limited  experience  and  to  incomplete 
thinking  on  the  elements  involved.  For  the  Springfield 
Report  66.2  per  cent  of  the  74  principals  replying  prefer  for 
the  junior  high  school  full  departmentalization,  31.1  per  cent 
prefer  partial  departmentalization,  and  two  are  uncertain. 

B.  INDIVIDUAL  DIFFERENCES  l 

The  scientific  study  of  education  has  contributed  nothing 
that  has  had  more  influence  in  modifying  both  the  organiza- 
tion and  the  practice  of  schools  than  the  facts  of  individual 
differences  of  pupils.  Common  observation  has  always 
noted  some  differences,  but  science  has  shown  that  at  any 
given  school  grade  or  at  any  given  age  these  differences  have 

1  For  an  exposition  of  individual  differences,  with  a  bibliography  to  1914, 
see  Thorndike's  Edtteationd  Psychology,  vol.  in. 


134 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


an  astounding  range  and  that  the  distribution  of  degrees  is 
in  any  large  number  of  children  practically  always  continu- 
ous and  unimodal  —  in  other  words,  that  the  farther  we  go 


1 


Gjad 


1      2 


456      7      8    IX    X 


FIG.  3.  DISTRIBUTION  BY  PER  CENTS 
OF  13-YEAR-OLD  PUPILS  IN  THE 
SCHOOLS  OF  Six  CITIES.  (DATA 
FROM  INGLIS.) 


0      2      4      6      8    10    12    14    16    18 

FIG.  4.  NUMBER  OF  PROBLEMS  IN 
ARITHMETIC  CORRECTLY  SOLVED 
BY  PUPILS  OF  THE  FOURTH  (SOLID 
LINE)  AND  EIGHTH  (DOTTED 
LINE)  GRADES.  (COURTIS.) 


from  the  average  of  any  trait  or  tendency,  the  fewer  children 
we  find.  Science  has  also  shown  that  there  is  a  surprising 
overlapping  of  abilities  and  other  characteristics  from  grade 
to  grade  or  from  age  to  age:  for  examples,  thirteen-year-old 
children  are  found  in  every  grade  of  some  cities,  from  the 
kindergarten  to  the  high  school;  there  are  in  one  grade  pupils 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    135 

who  can  spell  better,  work  arithmetic  better,  and  in  general 
do  better  school  work  than  the  average  in  grades  one,  two, 
or  even  more  years  advanced;  in  any  grade  pupils  differ 
greatly  in  their  ability  to  do  what  they  have  been  taught. 
The  extent  of  individual  differences  of  two  kinds  may  be 
seen  from  Figures  3  and  4. 

An  analysis  of  individual  differences  at  early  adolescence 
shows  that  they  are  of  many  kinds  —  some  due  to  nature 
and  some  to  nurture.  Briefly  stated  they  are  of  race,1  sex,2 
age,3  physical  development,4  health,  intellectual  inheritance 
and  training,5  interests,  tastes,  and  aptitudes,  environment, 
family  traditions,  social  and  economic  status,6  aspirations, 
probable  future  schooling,7  and  command  of  the  English 
language.  In  these  differences  science  has  shown  that  there 
is  a  positive,  though  by  no  means  perfect,  correlation  of 
desirable  traits  —  that  is,  we  are  more  likely  to  find  good 
intellect  with  good  health,  for  example,  than  we  are  to  find  a 
compensating  relation. 

1  See  Mayo:  The  Mental  Capacity  of  the  American  Negro;  Murdock:  "A 
Study  of  Race  Differences  in  New  York  City,"  School  and  Society,  vol.  11. 
p.  147;  Woodworth:  "Racial  Differences  in  Mental  Traits,"  Science,  vol. 
81,  p.  171. 

2  See  annotated  bibliographies  by  H.  B.  Thompson  and  L.  S.  Rolling- 
worth  in  Psychological  Bulletin,  1914,  '16,  '18,  '20;  Thompson:  Psychological 
Norms  in  Men  and  Women;  and  Terman :  The  Measurement  of  Intelligence. 

3  See  any  age-grade  table  in  school  reports,  or  Inglis:  Principles  of  Sec- 
ondary Education,  p.  5. 

4  Baldwin:  Part  i  of  the  Fifteenth  Year-Book  of  the  National  Society  for  the 
Study  of  Education;  Inglis:  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  chap,  i;  and 
Crampton:  American  Physical  Education  Review,  vol.  13,  pp.  141,  214,  268, 
and  345. 

6  See  Terman :  The  Intelligence  of  School  Children. 

6  Van  Denburg:  Elimination  of  Students  in  Public  Secondary  Schools. 

7  Almost  one  and  a  half  million  children  between  the  ages  of  ten  and 
fifteen  are  listed  in  the  1910  census  as  farm  laborers. 


136  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

The  ideal  of  the  schools  of  a  generation  ago,  and  unfortu- 
nately of  some  even  to-day,  is  by  the  same  subjects  and  the 
same  methods  to  make  all  pupils  alike,  with  disastrous  re- 
sults, it  is  now  generally  recognized,  to  those  who  deviated 
markedly  from  the  group  especially  benefited.  By  and 
large,  the  ablest  pupils  were  retarded,  and  the  poorer  ones 
were  fed  a  pabulum  that  did  them  less  good  than  was  pos- 
sible while  they  remained  in  school  and  ultimately  elimi- 
nated them  from  the  number  that  received  public-school 
training  of  any  kind. 

From  a  mere  reading  of  the  list  of  kinds  of  individual 
differences  it  is  obvious  that  some  may  be  eradicated  by 
training,  that  some  cannot  be  materially  modified  by  any 
means,  and  that  some  may  be  reduced  or  removed  at  a  cost 
unjustifiable  to  society.  Observation  of  school  programs 
and  work  reveals  that  several  of  the  differences  are  likely  to 
become  greater  with  the  oncoming  of  adolescence  and  the 
increased  possibilities  in  the  subject-matter  offered,  and 
that  teachers  are  as  a  rule  insufficiently  informed  of  the 
differences  due  to  conditions  of  inheritance  and  outside 
influences. 

Because  of  the  variations  in  policy,  the  following  princi- 
ples are  proposed  for  the  intermediate  school :  first,  it  should 
systematically  seek  to  ascertain  the  nature  and  extent  of 
individual  differences  of  its  pupils;  second,  it  should  defi- 
nitely decide  which  of  them  from  the  point  of  view  of  public 
good  it  is  reasonable  to  seek  to  reduce  or  destroy;  third,  it 
should  adopt  a  definite  policy  as  to  providing  education 
suitable  to  those  differences  which  it  cannot  by  any  reason- 
able expenditure  of  effort  and  money  hope  to  eradicate; 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    137 

fourth,  it  should  recognize  that  as  a  public  school  it  owes  to 
each  pupil  a  similar  amount  of  attention,  regardless  of  differ- 
ences of  various  kinds. 

One  of  the  most  important  functions  of  the  intermediate 
school  is,  after  recognizing  differences  that  remain  after  six 
or  more  years  of  schooling,  to  reveal  to  the  pupils  possibili- 
ties of  various  higher  activities  and  more  or  less  at  the  same 
time  to  start  each  individual  on  a  curriculum  that  promises 
to  be  of  most  value  to  him  and  consequently  to  society.  It 
has  previously  been  pointed  out  that  both  the  congregation 
of  a  larger  number  than  usual  of  pupils  of  the  same  ages  and 
general  interests,  and  also  the  lack  of  traditions,  make  it 
easier  for  the  junior  high  school  than  for  any  other  institu- 
tion to  provide  for  individual  differences.  The  remainder 
of  this  section  will  present  the  means  that  have  been  pro- 
vided by  schools  to  accomplish  ends  which  differences  of 
nature  or  of  nurture  make  desirable.1 

i.  Differentiated  curricula.  Although  the  conception  of 
a  junior  high  school  presented  in  chapter  n  would  make 
completely  differentiated  curricula  a  part  of  the  program 
only  of  senior  high  schools  or  of  more  advanced  institutions, 
many  junior  high  schools  have  offered  in  the  seventh  grade 
a  choice  of  electives  or  else  curricula  that  contain  combina- 
tions of  subjects  leading  toward  diverse  ends.  When  these 
are  offered  to  pupils  whose  various  kinds  of  differences  are 
unknown  to  the  junior  high-school  teachers,  there  can  be  no 
wise  guidance;  and  elections  by  pupils  who  are  not  ac- 
quainted with  the  subjects  offered  or  who  are  uncertain  as 

1  See  also  T.  S.  Henry:  Classroom  Problems  in  the  Education  of  Gifted 
Children,  part  u  of  the  Nineteenth  Year-Boole  of  the  National  Society  for  the 
Study  of  Education. 


138  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

to  their  futures  usually  result  in  choices  that  are  influenced 
by  factors  other  than  the  good  of  the  individual  or  the  profit 
of  society.  Two  tendencies  operate  strongly  under  these 
conditions:  one,  to  elect  courses  that  are  novel  and  "prac- 
tical," and  the  other  to  elect  those  that  have  a  social  sanc- 
tion. The  result  is  that  many  pupils  who  should  prepare 
for  continued  intellectual  training  choose  the  commercial, 
industrial  arts,  or  agricultural  curriculum,  while  others  who 
by  every  evidence  are  likely  soon  to  enter  on  gainful  occupa- 
tions choose  the  college  preparatory  curriculum  so  as  to 
remain  in  an  envied  social  group.  The  results  of  full  or 
even  wide  differentiation  in  the  seventh  grade  reinforce  the 
arguments  for  exploratory  courses  and  a  gradual  diminution 
of  common,  integrating  education.  Exception  is  again  made 
of  the  over-age  pupils  who  are  certain  to  leave  school  at  or 
soon  after  the  end  of  the  compulsory  education  period. 
Illustrative  of  the  wide  differences  in  electives  are  the  per- 
centages of  choices  by  pupils  at  Los  Angeles,  California,  and 
Somerville,  Massachusetts,  shown  in  Table  XXI. 

TABLE  XXI 

PER  CENT  OF  PUPILS  ELECTING  SEVERAL  CUHRICULA  AT 
Los  ANGELES  AND  SOMEBVILLE 


Curricula 
General     

Los  Angeles 
87.6 

Somerville 
44 

Commercial  

10.0 

40 

Vocational  .  . 

2.4 

16 

Ninety-three  junior  high  schools  provide  curricula  of 
which  one  third  or  more  of  the  subjects  are  direct  training 
for  industrial  work.  Of  259  schools  reporting  to  the  New 
Jersey  Council  of  Education  l  27  per  cent  offer  some  differ- 

1  Unpublished  study. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    139 

entiation  in  grades  7  and  8;  24  per  cent  planned  to  offer 
some;  and  32  per  cent  assert  that  they  have  real  differentia- 
tion in  curricula.  Of  the  schools  reporting  in  the  North 
Central  territory  l  25.25  per  cent  allowed  election  by  cur- 
ricula, and  48.46  per  cent  allowed  election  by  subject. 

2.  Promotion.  A  means  generally  used  2  to  accommodate 
pupils  who  are  uneven  in  their  development  is  promotion 
by  subject.  This  practice,  which  is  almost  universally  ap- 
proved in  theory,  has  in  its  application  the  obstacle  of 
requiring  a  program  that  makes  it  possible  for  each  pupil 
to  be  placed  in  the  class  where  he  should  be.  Consequently 
there  are  many  compromises,  usually  adjustments  being 
made  in  the  subjects  that  are  not  considered  by  the  principal 
to  be  of  great  importance. 

Double  promotions  are  frequently  used  to  effect  a  classifi- 
cation for  bright  pupils  that  are  judged  able  to  carry  ad- 
vanced work.  Although  this  practice  jumps  children  over 
the  work  of  a  whole  semester  or  even  of  a  year,  it  is  reported 
to  be  effective  in  such  cities  as  Hackensack,  New  Jersey,  and 
Wellesville,  New  York.  That  it  is  so  argues  that  the  work 
skipped  is  not  of  great  importance  or,  more  probably,  that 
the  pupils  get  it  up  for  themselves  outside  the  school  or  in 
the  class  reviews.  Fishback  has  shown 3  that  in  the  elemen- 
tary school  pupils  receiving  double  promotions  have  made 
quite  as  high  marks  afterward  as  they  did  before.  Of  148 
junior  high  schools  reporting  on  this  item,  125,  or  84.5  per 
cent,  use  double  promotions  to  place  pupils  where  they  can 
work  most  effectively. 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  p.  328. 

1  See  page  152  ff.          *  Report  of  Superintendent,  Hackensack,  1917. 


140  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Irregular  promotions  are  made  in  many  schools  —  for 
instance,  at  Burlington  (Vermont),  Tacoma  (Washington), 
Newton  (Massachusetts),  Lincoln  (Nebraska),  Solvay  (New 
York),  and  in  the  junior  high  schools  of  Vermont  —  as  pupils 
manifest  ability  to  do  advanced  work.  This  practice  pro- 
motes any  pupil  at  any  time  when  it  seems  that  he  may 
secure  more  profit  from  an  advanced  class  than  from  the  one 
in  which  he  is.  Of  409  cities,  262,  or  64.1  per  cent,  reported 
to  Smith  l  that  they  use  irregular  promotions. 

Often  promotion  per  vim  has  been  made  of  pupils  who,  be- 
cause of  absence,  negligence  of  work  due  to  other  interests, 
or  dislike  of  one  or  more  teachers,  had  been  marked  as  fail- 
ures in  the  subjects  studied.  The  stimulus  from  being  in  a 
more  congenial  environment  not  infrequently  has  caused 
such  pupils  to  catch  up  with  advanced  classes  and  to  make 
satisfactory  marks.  This  result  was  reported  at  Newton, 
Massachusetts,  and  at  Burlington,  Vermont. 

Occasionally  irregular  promotion  into  the  junior  high 
school  has  been  of  pupils  who  were  dull,  the  hope  being  that 
association  with  boys  and  girls  of  similar  age  and  subjects  of 
greater  interest  would  serve  to  hold  such  pupils  in  school 
longer  and  profit  them  more  than  the  repetition  of  subjects 
from  which  they  were  receiving  little.  Commissioner  Hille- 
gas,  of  Vermont,  reports: 2 

In  a  number  of  cases  we  have  been  bold  enough  to  promote  stu- 
pid boys  and  girls  from  as  low  as  the  fifth  grade  directly  into  the 
junior  high  school.  Results  have  been  most  satisfactory.  In  one 
of  the  larger  junior  high  schools  considerable  groups  of  such  re- 

1  Proceedings  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Conference  on  Educational  Measure- 
ments, Indiana  University. 

*  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  19,  p.  343,  September,  1918. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    141 

tarded  and  incompetent  boys  and  girls  were  thus  promoted.  At 
the  beginning  of  the  second  year  new  teachers  in  the  school  were 
unable  to  select  the  pupils  thus  advanced. 

Principal  P.  W.  L.  Cox  reports  similar  results  both  at 
Solvay,  New  York,  and  at  St.  Louis,  Missouri.  At  Lincoln, 
Nebraska,  97  of  225  retarded  pupils  were  given  trial  promo- 
tions; of  this  number  one  failed  because  of  lack  of  proper 
effort,  but  "all  the  teachers  reported  that  the  ninety-six 
were  doing  as  well  or  better  in  the  advanced  grade  than  they 
would  have  done  had  they  been  kept  in  the  grades  where 
they  were."  On  this  topic,  the  Commission  on  the  Reorgani- 
zation of  Secondary  Education  recommends  l  "that  second- 
ary schools  admit,  and  provide  suitable  instruction  for,  all 
pupils  who  are  in  any  respect  so  mature  that  they  would 
derive  more  benefit  from  the  secondary  school  than  from  the 
elementary  school." 

These  plans  for  irregular  promotion  are  all  intended  to 
provide  training  most  suitable  to  each  pupil  because  of  his 
individual  differences.  Whatever  weaknesses  there  may  be 
in  the  deviations  from  normal  practice,  they  are  certainly 
better  than  the  old  practice  of  retarding  a  bright  pupil  so 
that  he  receives  less  education  than  he  should,  and  at  the 
same  time  develops  habits  of  indolence  and  mischief.  They 
are  better,  too,  than  holding  a  pupil  who  is  dull  or  a  misfit 
for  repetitions  of  such  small  value  in  surroundings  so  uncon- 
genial that  he  leaves  school  at  the  first  opportunity  and 
enters  on  work  and  citizenship  for  which  he  is  by  no  means 
prepared. 

3.  Tutoring.  Special  assistance  is  sometimes  furnished 
1  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  35,  19J8. 


142  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

to  pupils  who  are  being  prepared  for  double  promotion  or  to 
those  who  for  one  reason  or  another  have  fallen  behind  in 
their  work.  The  old  Batavia  plan  provided  this  assistance 
to  all  pupils  in  order  to  care  for  their  individual  differences 
and  difficulties.  This  plan  has  been  adopted  by  a  number 
of  junior  high  schools,  though  in  the  majority  of  cases  for  the 
dull  rather  than  for  the  bright  pupils.  It  has  been  in  use  at 
the  Boyle  Heights  Intermediate  School  (Los  Angeles),  the 
Sigsbee  School  (Grand  Rapids),  the  Condon  School  (De- 
troit), and  in  Rochester  (New  York).1 

Of  135  schools  replying  on  this  point,  107,  or  80  per  cent, 
report  that  they  provide  some  tutoring  for  backward  pupils. 
There  is  reason  to  suspect,  however,  that  among  the  107 
are  some  that  give  this  assistance  merely  during  the  super- 
vised study  periods. 

There  are  four  means  for  providing  this  special  assistance: 
first,  the  regular  classroom  teacher  helps  pupils  with  their 
difficulties,  either  during  a  supervised  study  period  or  at  a 
regular  conference  hour;  second  —  a  variation  of  the  first  — 
teachers  excuse  for  one  period  a  week  those  pupils  who  mani- 
fest superior  ability,  giving  them  supplementary  assign- 
ments, and  devote  the  period  to  further  explanation  and 
drill  for  those  who  need  assistance;  third,  a  "Batavia 
teacher"  takes  such  pupils  for  extra  work,  as  at  Boyle 
Heights  or  the  Horace  Mann  School  for  Boys;  and,  fourth, 
the  ablest  pupils  are  assigned  as  helpers  to  those  who  are  in 
need  of  assistance.  This  plan,  which  was  used  for  several 
years  at  the  Speyer  Junior  High  School,  New  York,  is  effec- 
tive, for  the  following  reasons:  pupils  are  more  willing  to 
1  See  School  Review,  vol.  28,  p.  195. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    143 

reveal  the  fullness  of  their  ignorance  to  their  fellows  than 
to  teachers  who  have  already  attempted  to  present  the  sub- 
ject and  who  hold  the  power  of  assigning  marks;  the  helping 
pupil  has  the  point  of  view  of  those  in  difficulty  and  usually 
can  give  sufficient  time  for  making  clear  the  points  that 
cause  trouble;  it  is  an  effective  means  of  socializing  the 
school;  and,  finally,  it  is  of  no  inconsiderable  value  in  clari- 
fying and  "stamping  in"  knowledge  and  skills  for  the  pupils 
assigned  as  tutors. 

4.  Abnormal  number  of  subjects.  It  has  long  been  the 
practice,  especially  in  schools  that  have  promotion  by  sub- 
ject, to  permit  the  abler  pupils  to  carry  one  or  even  two 
subjects  more  than  the  normal  number,  and  to  require 
the  weaker  to  take  one  or  two  fewer.  This  plan  is  in  sharp 
contrast  to  the  other,  which  is  unfortunately  also  common, 
stated  by  a  junior-high-school  principal  as  follows,  "The 
failing  pupil  must  in  the  following  semester  take  the  normal 
program  and  in  addition  the  subject  or  subjects  in  which  he 
has  failed."  Unpublished  studies  show  that  bright  and 
industrious  pupils  can  carry  such  extra  load  with  no  material 
reduction  in  marks,  and  that  the  dull  or  lazy  pupils,  unless 
they  receive  careful  individual  attention,  do  scarcely  better 
with  a  lighter  program  than  they  did  with  the  normal  amount 
of  work. 

For  many  years  the  State  of  New  York  has  encouraged 
an  element  of  junior-high-school  work  in  that  it  permitted 
the  abler  pupils  in  the  eighth  grade  to  take  one  or  two 
secondary-school  subjects.  Clinton,  Iowa,  has  allowed 
bright  pupils  in  its  junior  high  school  who  have  completed 
the  seventh  grade  to  substitute  Latin  for  English  grammar 


144  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

and  algebra  for  arithmetic.  And  many  cities  —  among 
them  Grand  Rapids,  Cincinnati,  Butte,  Paducah,  Evans- 
ville,  Chanute,  Santa  Rosa,  and  Burlington  —  have  ad- 
justed the  size  of  junior-high-school  pupils'  programs  accord- 
ing to  their  abilities.  It  is,  according  to  Smith,1  the  second 
most  common  means  of  providing  for  individual  differences. 

Of  198  junior  high  schools  replying  on  this  topic,  183,  or 
92.4  per  cent,  permit  the  abler  pupils  to  take  one  or  two 
additional  subjects,  and  180,  or  91.0  per  cent,  require  failing 
pupils  to  take  a  program  lighter  than  the  normal. 

5.  Credit  for  outside  work.  Many  pupils  in  junior  high 
schools  supplement  their  regular  studies  by  work  with  pri- 
vate teachers,  and  in  evening  or  summer  schools.  Outside 
study  of  music  is  most  common;  and  when  there  are  care- 
fully prepared  courses  of  study,  supervision,  and  an  examina- 
tion by  the  school,  there  is  no  good  reason  why  a  limited 
amount  of  credit  toward  graduation  should  not  be  granted 
for  it.  Several  schools  report  that  such  a  plan  has  worked 
satisfactorily.  A  few  schools  give  credit  for  similarly  con- 
trolled outside  study  of  the  Bible.  Evening-school  study 
at  the  same  time  that  pupils  attend  day  school  seems  un- 
reasonable, and  is  reported  by  a  negligible  number  of  cities. 
Summer  schools,  supplementing  the  work  of  the  regular  ses- 
sion, is  reported  by  Smith  2  as  the  most  popular  means  of 
providing  for  individual  pupils  an  opportunity  to  make  up 
failed  subjects  or  to  advance  more  rapidly  than  would  other- 
wise be  possible.  Summer  schools  have  usually  been  estab- 
lished to  afford  an  opportunity  for  pupils  to  make  up  work 

1  Proceedings  of  the  Fifth  Annual  Conference  on  Educational  Measury 
ments.  Indiana  University, 

2  Loc.  cit. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    145 

in  which  they  have  failed,  but  it  is  not  unusual  to  find  the 
enrollment  largely  made  up  of  the  able  who  are  ambitious  to 
accelerate  their  progress  through  school.  Briggs  reports  l 
that  at  Los  Angeles  intermediate-school  pupils  elect  and 
receive  credit  for  more  summer-school  courses  than  do  pupils 
from  corresponding  grades  of  the  older  organization. 

Of  409  schools  reporting  to  Smith  on  this  topic,  141,  or 
34.5  per  cent,  give  credit  for  outside  work,  while  only  67, 
or  16.4  per  cent,  give  credit  for  evening-school  courses;  207, 
or  66  per  cent,  offer  and  give  credit  for  summer-school 
courses.  Of  177  junior  high  schools  reporting  for  this  study, 
53,  or  30  per  cent,  give  credit  for  outside  vocational  work. 
It  is  probable  that  many  others  would  do  so  if  a  request 
were  made. 

6.  Extra  hours.  The  brevity  of  the  school  day  in  many 
schools  makes  it  possible  for  pupils  to  do  extra  work  either 
early  in  the  morning  or  after  adjournment  in  the  afternoon. 
It  is  probable  that  some  schools  provide  opportunity  for 
additional  periods  of  study  and  instruction  for  backward 
pupils,  but  none  such  have  been  reported.  Oakland,  Cali- 
fornia, however,  for  several  years  offered  for  ambitious 
pupils  foreign  language  and  commercial  courses  before  the 
regular  school  work  began  in  the  morning.  Superintendent 
Barker  reported  the  plan  successful  both  educationally  and 
economically.  The  University  of  California  School 2  is 
open  from  8  A.M.  to  5  P.M.  "to  afford  opportunities  for  pupils 
who  are  behind  to  catch  up  in  their  work,  or  for  those  who  so 
desire  to  take  extra  work." 

1  Journal  of  Educational  Research,  November,  1920. 

2  Journal  of  Educational  Psychology,  vol.  5,  p.  481. 


146  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

7.  Credit  for  quality.     The  movement  to  assign  credits 
weighted  according  to  the  quality  of  work  done  has  natu- 
rally spread  to  the  junior  high  schools  that  are  attempting 
by  every  means  possible  to  provide  for  individual  differ- 
ences.    Hampton,  Iowa,  and  the  Sigsbee   School,  Grand 
Rapids,  are  among  those  that  have  adopted  the  plan.     Ver- 
mont junior  high  schools  assign  l  15  per  cent  and  25  per  cent 
more  or  less  credit  respectively  for  the  two  marks  above  and 
below  the  average  for  the  class. 

In  order  that  credit  for  quality  may  be  most  successfully 
administered  it  is  necessary  that  careful  definition  be  made 
of  the  work  required  for  each  mark.2  Those  who  have  used 
the  plan  report  that  it  is  more  effective  in  stimulating  the 
weak  pupils  than  the  able  and  that  it  does  not  enable  the 
brightest  pupils  materially  to  reduce  the  time  necessary  for 
graduation. 

Only  91  junior  high  schools  reported  as  to  credit  for  qual- 
ity.    Of  these,  40,  or  44.0  per  cent,  use  the  plan  to  pro 
vide  for  individual  differences  of  achievement. 

8.  Minimum  essentials.     One  school  reports  that  it  re- 
quires of  all  pupils  a  minimum  amount  of  work  in  each  sub- 
ject and  requires  of  the  abler  pupils  supplementary  or  more 
difficult  topics.     This  plan  has  not  proved  popular  and  is 
not  likely  to  be  successful,  for,  as  McMurry  has  pointed  out, 
minimum  essentials  are  often  conceived  also  as  the  maxi- 
mum necessities,  and  it  constantly  widens  the  gap  between 

1  Bulletin  1,  1918,  pp.  23-26. 

1  See  Bailey:  "Administration  of  Quantitative  and  Qualitative  Credit 
for  High  School,"  School  Review,  vol.  25,  pp.  305-22;  and  Reeder:  "The 
Geneseo  Scale  of  Qualities,"  Elementary  School  Journal,  vol.  20,  pp. 
292-96. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    147 

the  able  and  the  dull  in  the  same  classes.  For  these  reasons, 
among  others,  it  was  abandoned  after  a  trial  in  elementary 
schools  of  New  York  City.  It  would  seem  wiser  to  provide 
for  individual  differences  by  some  of  the  other  plans  enumer- 
ated in  this  chapter. 

9.  Homogeneous  grouping  of  pupils.  There  has  always 
been  a  tendency  for  schools  to  recognize  and  care  for,  often 
unkindly,  pupils  who  are  dull  or  for  other  reasons  backward. 
Teachers  have  given  such  pupils  a  relatively  inordinate 
amount  of  time  in  class  and  have  kept  them  in  after  school, 
and  in  one  high  school  visited  there  was  what  was  popularly 
called  a  "bonehead  room"  to  which  was  assigned  pupils 
who  had  fallen  behind  in  their  work !  The  plan  of  homogene- 
ous grouping  provides  that  the  bright  be  recognized  as  well 
as  the  dull,  that  each  group  be  taught  according  to  need, 
and  that  it  shall  progress  at  its  optimum  pace.1  That  there 
are  wide  ranges  of  natural  ability,  all  stages  of  which  should 
receive  special  and  appropriate  attention,  may  be  seen  in  the 
reports  of  the  achievements  of  pupils  when  measured  by  the 
Army  Alpha  Tests.2  In  Grand  Rapids  44  dull  junior-high- 
school  pupils,  when  given  individual  mental  tests,  were 
classified  as  follows:  normal,  2;  backward,  3;  border-line, 
1;  morons,  36;  and  imbeciles,  2.3 

Various  methods  have  been  used  to  ascertain  the  relative 
abilities  of  pupils.  One  school  selected  a  group  of  accelerant 
pupils  wholly  on  the  basis  of  inheritance  and  "general  repu- 

1  A  full  explanation  of  this  plan,  with  notes  as  to  its  administration,  is 
given  by  Briggs  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  National  Association  of  Secondary 
School  Principals,  vol.  in,  pp.  53-63. 

2  See  Madsen  and  Sylvester:  School  and  Society,  vol.  10,  p.  407. 
•  Superintendent's  Report,  1916. 


148  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

tation"  and  reported  the  results  "encouraging";  Rochester 
(Minnesota),  Butte  (Montana),  Madisonville  (Ohio),  Lin- 
coln (Nebraska),1  and  Pawhuska  (Oklahoma),  among 
others,  have  grouped  pupils  on  the  basis  of  their  records  in 
elementary  grades;  Hot  Springs  (Arkansas),  Richmond 
(Indiana),  and  Burlington  (Vermont)  have  made  their 
groupings  after  from  three  weeks  to  one  semester  of  teaching 
and  observing  the  pupils;  Cincinnati  selected  a  class  of  ac- 
celerant pupils  by  individual  mental  tests,  and  at  the  Speyer 
Junior  High  School,  New  York  City,  different  batteries  of 
mental  tests  have  been  used  to  classify  all  incoming  pupils 
since  1915.  Fretwell  has  shown  2  that  the  marks  of  pupils 
in  grades  5  and  6  are  good  for  prognosis  of  ability  to  do 
junior-high-school  work,  that  the  marks  for  grades  1  to  6 
are  better,  and  that  selected  tests  are  best.  The  improve- 
ment in  group  mental  tests,  which  are  easy  and  economical 
to  administer,  and  their  popularization  by  the  army  have 
given  impetus  to  the  movement  for  their  use  for  homogene- 
ous classification  of  school  pupils. 

Whatever  method  of  classification  is  used,  there  should 
be  provision  for  the  easy  transfer  of  pupils  who  have  been 
badly  placed.  Superintendent  Chittenden  states  that  a 
pupil  transferred  from  one  group  to  another  adjusts  himself 
within  forty-eight  hours;  but  experience  at  the  Speyer 
School  showed  that  there  was  considerable  loss  when  trans- 
fers of  individuals  were  made.  To  be  most  successful  homo- 
geneous grouping  needs  to  be  supplemented  by  more  than 
usually  close  and  careful  supervision  of  teachers;  although 

1  Hunter:  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  3,  pp.  394-95. 
*  A  Study  of  Educational  Prognosis. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    149 

they  may  understand  and  generally  approve  the  classifica- 
tion of  similar  pupils  together,  there  are  potent  habits  to  be 
overcome,  and  long  confidence  in  subjective  judgments  of 
ability  tends  to  make  them  dubious  at  times  of  the  results 
of  objective  measures. 

After  pupils  are  grouped  according  to  ability,  schools  vary 
in  their  aims  and  prescribed  programs.  The  Speyer  School, 
Richmond,  and  Burlington  plan  primarily  for  pupils  to 
save  time.  Cincinnati  and  Lincoln  provide  a  special  curric- 
ulum, for  the  most  part  academic,  whereby  their  better 
groups  may  be  accelerated.  Hampton,  Iowa,  has  its  A 
division  supplement  the  text  fully,  its  B  division  do  the 
work  as  outlined  in  the  courses  of  study,  and  its  C  division 
emphasize  only  what  are  considered  to  be  minimum  essen- 
tials. Miami  reports: 

In  the  A  division  of  each  year  we  make  the  work  more  literary 
and  require  more  outside  work  than  in  the  B  or  C  division;  in 
the  B  division  we  offer  more  manual  training  and  domestic  science 
and  less  work  of  a  literary  character;  and  in  the  C  division  we  pre- 
scribe still  less  work  of  an  academic  nature  but  give  as  much  prac- 
tical arts  as  possible. 

An  adjustment  of  methods  of  teaching  automatically  and 
almost  inevitably  follows  homogeneous  grouping. 

Of  109  junior  high  schools  reporting  on  the  topic,  80,  or 
73.6  per  cent,  provided  in  1917-18  for  accelerant  groups; 
and  of  140,  110,  or  79.3  per  cent,  provided  for  the  slow 
moving.  There  is  evidence  that  the  number  is  by  this  time 
considerably  increased.  There  is  no  report  of  a  school  that 
has  once  tried  the  plan  reverting  to  the  old  classification 
of  pupils  regardless  of  their  ability  to  achieve  results. 


150  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

10.  Ungraded  rooms.    Another  method  of  providing  for 
individual  differences  is  the  assignment,  usually  in  small 
groups,  of  pupils  who  deviate  markedly  from  the  normal 
groups  to  a  special  room  where  they  may  receive  suitable 
attention.     Like  several  of  the  other  provisions,  this  one  is 
usually  made  for  dull  pupils,  though  there  is  no  reason  why 
it  should  not  be  equally  effective  for  the  able.     Only  13.9 
per  cent  of  Smith's  409  cities  provide  ungraded  rooms  for 
bright  pupils.     "Opportunity  rooms"  are  found  in  junior 
high  schools  at  Los  Angeles,  Grand  Rapids,  Detroit,  and 
Charleston    (West   Virginia).      No   questionnaire   returns 
were  requested  on  this  item. 

Of  the  work  at  Charleston  Miss  Mabel  Gibbons,  the 
principal,  wrote: 

At  the  opening  of  the  second  semester  we  formed  special  classes 
of  pupils  who  failed  to  pass  in  their  work  and  yet  who  were  too  far 
advanced  to  repeat  without  an  unnecessary  loss  of  time  and  in- 
terest. .  .  .  These  classes  were  given  a  review  of  six  weeks  on  the 
work  of  the  previous  semester,  particular  attention  being  paid  to 
the  individual  needs  of  the  pupils.  New  supplementary  work 
was  introduced  to  keep  up  the  interest  and  to  furnish  new  avenues 
of  approach.  At  the  close  of  this  six  weeks  period  those  who  were 
strengthened  sufficiently  were  allowed  to  take  advanced  work 
under  the  same  teacher,  and  the  others  were  fitted  into  lower 
classes  for  more  thorough  study.  Very  few  returned  to  the  lower 
classes.  At  the  close  of  the  term  about  80  per  cent  of  those  in  re- 
peating classes  were  ready  for  regular  promotion  and  we  find  them 
doing  good  work  this  year.  Some  of  the  weak  20  per  cent  made  up 
the  work  during  the  summer,  and  others  are  repeating  in  regular 
classes  this  semester. 

11.  Sex  segregation.1    The  separation  of  pupils  according 
to  sex  in  secondary  schools  has  never  been  generally  consid- 

1  See  also  Douglass:  The  Junior  High  School,  pp.  44-45.  49,  130-31. 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL     151 

ered  from  an  educational  point  of  view.  As  it  is  more  eco- 
nomical to  establish  one  high  school  in  a  district,  boys  and 
girls  have  been  thrown  together  for  education  in  adolescence 
as  in  childhood,  with  such  satisfactory  results  that  chal- 
lenges to  the  practice  have  been  few  and  ineffective.  But 
there  are  differences  between  boys  and  girls  that  are  recog- 
nized by  the  provision  of  separate  classes  almost  everywhere, 
at  least  in  physical  training  and  industrial  work. 

It  is  held  by  many  that  sex  segregation  by  classes  in  early 
adolescence  should  be  carried  much  further  than  is  now  the 
general  practice  in  secondary  schools.  As  the  consciousness 
of  sex  becomes  strong,  there  are  increased  problems  in  co- 
education, especially  in  those  subjects  that  involve  emo- 
tional elements  —  like  literature  and  music.  There  is  much 
testimony  that  junior-high-school  boys  and  girls  respond 
more  freely  and  naturally  to  emotional  appeals  in  literature 
and  that  they  sing  more  seriously  and  better  when  separated 
than  when  together.  Discipline  is  also,  said  to  be  easier. 
Science  has  shown  that  girls  enter  upon  adolescence  earlier 
than  boys,  but  the  effect  of  this  upon  classwork  is  by  no 
means  exactly  known. 

Many  schools  have  carried  sex  segregation  by  subjects 
further  than  is  usual,  holding  that  textbooks,  especially  in 
science  and  mathematics,  are  prepared  primarily  for  boys. 
Lewiston  (Idaho),  Clinton  (Iowa),  and  Everett  (Washing- 
ton), are  among  the  schools  that  have  taken  this  position, 
and  it  was  approved  in  1914  by  the  New  Jersey  Council  of 
Education.  Of  254  junior  high  schools  reporting,  67  have 
sex  segregation  in  subjects  other  than  physical  training  and 
industrial  work.  The  distribution  is  as  shown  in  Table  XXII. 


152  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  XXII 

DISTRIBUTION  OP  SUBJECTS  IN  WHICH  PUPILS  ARE  SEGREGATED 
ACCORDING  TO  SEX,  EXCLUSIVE  OF  PHYSICAL  TRAINING  AND 
INDUSTRIAL  WORK,  IN  67  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Subject                             Number  Per  cent 

All 17  25.4 

Some 3  4.5 

English 13  19.4 

Latin 1  1.5 

Music 7  10.4 

Art 6  9.0 

Social  sciences 5  7.5 

Physical  sciences 29  43 . 3 

Mathematics 11  16 .4 

First  aid 1  1.5 

Care  of  children 1  1.5 

Earning,  saving,  and  spending        1  1.5 

In  a  few  cases  where  for  educational  reasons  the  sexes  are 
separated  in  physical  training,  industrial  arts,  and  the  like, 
difficulties  in  program-making  keep  them  apart  in  other 
subjects  as  well.  On  the  other  hand,  small  classes  some- 
times make  it  necessary  to  teach  boys  and  girls  together, 
although  educationally  it  seems  desirable  to  segregate  them. 

This  discussion  has  shown  that  junior  high  schools  to  an 
extent,  certainly  more  than  other  institutions  dealing  with 
pupils  of  the  same  ages,  are  recognizing  and  providing  in 
several  ways  for  individual  differences.  It  seems  likely 
that  as  the  facts  and  possible  means  are  more  widely  known, 
there  will  be  a  steady  increase  in  the  number  of  schools  mak- 
ing these  provisions  and  in  the  effectiveness  of  the  work. 

C.  PROMOTIONS 

From  an  academic  point  of  view,  departmentalization 
makes  promotion  of  pupils  into  higher  class  organizations 


SPECIAL  FUNCTIONS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL    153 

less  important  than  when  a  pupil  must  "remain  behind"  or 
"go  up"  with  his  room.  But  in  most  schools  where  inquiry 
was  made,  the  pupils  themselves  are  keen  to  be  known  as 
members  of  the  next  higher  school  class,  for  there  are  usually 
some  organizations  —  social,  athletic,  and  the  like  —  that 
are  delimited  as  to  membership  by  the  general  standing  of 
the  pupils.  Some  schools,  therefore,  as  Richmond,  Indiana, 
have  a  regular  schedule  of  points  that  a  pupil  must  acquire 
to  earn  membership  in  each  of  the  class  organizations. 

In  proportion  as  a  school  has  accepted  the  welfare  of  the 
individual  as  its  ideal,  rather  than  a  strict  "upholding  of 
standards,"  promotion  has,  as  stated  from  Sioux  Falls, 
North  Dakota,  "a  great  deal  of  elasticity."  It  is  notable, 
on  visiting  junior  high  schools,  that  a  considerable  number 
of  principals  are  ready  to  promote  a  pupil  to  any  class  what- 
ever if  it  seems  probable  that  for  any  reason  he  will  be  better 
off  attempting  the  so-called  "higher  "  work.  In  many  cases 
the  work  may  be  "higher"  only  in  the  sense  that  it  is  sched- 
uled in  the  program  of  studies  normally  for  the  eighth  or 
ninth  grade.  Mention  has  already  been  made  of  the  prac- 
tice of  promoting  per  vim  backward  pupils,  especially  when 
they  are  approaching  the  end  of  the  period  of  legally  com- 
pulsory education.  More  than  23  per  cent  of  260  junior- 
high-school  principals  report  that  they  promote  pupils  at 
any  time  that  conditions  seem  to  warrant  their  so  doing. 
These  reports  were  volunteered,  no  direct  request  for  such 
information  being  made;  therefore  it  is  probable  that  the 
percentage  is  in  reality  much  larger. 

Throughout  the  country  the  tendency  toward  semi- 
annual promotions  in  all  grades  is  marked;  in  fact,  it  may 


154  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

be  considered  the  very  general  practice  in  schools  that  are 
large  enough  to  have  two  or  more  classes  doing  the  same 
year's  work.  It  is  somewhat  surprising,  then,  to  find  that 
47  per  cent  of  the  260  junior  high  schools  reporting  on  this 
item  still  had  in  1917  annual  promotions  only.  The  Spring- 
field Report  found  54.9  per  cent  of  83  schools  with  annual 
promotions  in  1919.  The  explanation  is,  of  course,  that  the 
larger  the  number  of  elective  subjects  offered  in  a  school, 
the  more  impossible  it  is  to  provide  for  semi-annual  promo- 
tion; an  attempt  to  provide  differentiation  is  the  most 
marked  characteristic  of  junior  high  schools. 

Surprising,  too,  is  the  fact  that  only  76.6  per  cent  of  248 
schools  reporting  promote  by  subject  rather  than  by  grade. 
This  does  not  differ  far  from  the  82.3  per  cent  of  the  North 
Central  junior  high  schools  reported  by  Davis  as  promoting 
by  subject.  Ten  per  cent  of  our  248  schools  state  that  they 
promote  by  subject  in  the  ninth  grade  only  or  in  "both 
grade  and  subject."  This  latter  phrase  may  mean  promo- 
tion by  subject  in  the  ninth  grade  only,  or  in  subjects  that 
have  more  definite  standards  than  are  now  found  in  music, 
physical  education,  etc.  Of  the  schools  reporting  for  the 
Springfield  study  in  1919,  42  promote  entirely  by  subject, 
10  by  the  general  average  of  subjects,  18  by  major  subjects, 
and  17  by  the  credit  point  system.  These  answers  are 
returned  by  a  maximum  of  83  schools.  The  difficulties  of 
program-making  are  the  greatest  obstacles  to  the  ideal  of 
promotion  by  subject. 


CHAPTER  VI 
CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY 

ALTHOUGH  in  the  beginning  of  the  junior-high-school  move- 
ment the  energies  of  schoolmen  were  given  largely  to  the 
physical  details  of  reorganization,  it  has  all  the  time  been 
obvious  that  the  new  type  of  school  could  achieve  only  a 
limited  amount  of  success  unless  it  brought  about  adequate 
changes  in  the  curricula  and  courses  of  study.1  To  be  satis- 
factory these  changes  must  be  based  on  clearly  conceived 
purposes;  but  as  an  effective  definition  of  the  ends  of  educa- 
tion itself  is  still  in  the  making,  there  can  be  small  wonder 
at  the  meagerness  of  the  changes  so  far  accomplished  in  the 
subject-matter  for  early  adolescents  or  at  the  great  variety 
in  the  attempted  adjustments.  One  cannot  examine  the 
curricula  and  courses  of  study  without  concluding  that  so 
far  they  have  made  only  a  beginning  at  accomplishing  de- 
sired ends.  This  opinion  is  confirmed  by  one  of  the  foremost 
advocates  of  educational  reorganization: 

We  have  lately  visited  a  good  number  of  so-called  "Junior  High 
Schools."  We  find  in  all  cases  the  principal  proudly  conscious  of 
the  distinctiveness  of  his  new  institution,  his  teachers,  pupils, 
building,  discipline  activities,  student  activities,  "auditorium," 

1  Throughout  this  report  these  terms  are  used  as  recommended  by  the 
Committee  on  College  Entrance  Requirements.  "  The  program  of  studies 
properly  includes  all  the  subjects  offered  in  a  given  school.  The  curriculum 
refers  to  a  group  of  subjects  systematically  arranged  for  any  pupil  or  set  of 
pupils.  The  course  of  study  means  the  quantity,  quality,  and  method  of 
work  in  any  given  subject  of  instruction."  Johnston:  High  School  Edupa- 
tion,  p.  Ill,  note. 


156  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

adviser  system,  social  center,  etc.  We  have  proceeded  as  quickly  as 
politeness  allowed,  in  every  case,  to  make  inquiries  concerning 
the  designs  for  the  partially  distinguishable  schemes  of  training 
(courses  of  study),  the  bases  upon  which  pupil  groups  are  steered 
into  this  or  that  curriculum  direction,  the  methods  of  teaching  which 
seem  best  suitable  to  this  new  unit  in  the  school  system  —  and 
finally  (and  most  vital  and  most  perplexing  of  all  the  questions), 
what  are  the  new  organizations  of  the  mathematical  material, 
the  language  units  of  instruction,  the  bases  for  the  selection  and 
treatment  of  the  literature,  the  foreign  languages,  science,  history, 
etc.,  which  are  being  adopted.  The  answer  generally  is,  "We 
have  n't  got  that  far  yet,"  "We  plan  to  take  that  up  next  year," 
or,  "We  have  no  reorganization  of  this  sort  in  prospect." 

If  we  are  really  going  to  reorganize  our  school  system  into  new 
administrative  units,  it  will  be  a  great  pity,  educationally,  if  we 
merely  do  a  little  tinkering  here  and  there  —  in  spots,  as  it  were. 
The  psychological  value  of  the  new  development  is  that  it  provides 
just  that  favorable  new  condition  for  seriously  conceived  plans 
which  are  more  closely  related  to  a  clear  educational  philosophy, 
and  which  may  be  undertaken,  lets  hampered  by  tradition  and  pre- 
judice, than  ever  before.  If  we  for  the  first  year  or  two  tackle 
merely  the  externals  of  reorganization  and  put  off  the  strictly  in- 
ternal matters  of  reorganization  suggested  above,  the  opportu- 
nity for  new  and  profound  educational  effects  is  squandered.1 

Why  have  schoolmen  postponed  the  issue?  Is  it  because 
the  concrete  details  of  administration  are  too  insistent  to 
leave  time  for  the  task?  Is  it  because  tradition  is  so  potent 
as  to  make  effort  seem  unnecessary?  Or  is  the  acceptance 
of  a  "manipulative  and  clerical,"  rather  than  a  "discrimi- 
nating and  educational,"  method  of  curriculum  making  a 
confession  of  the  lack  of  clear  and  convincing  guiding  prin- 
ciples? Although  there  have  been  relatively  few  attempts 
fundamentally  to  reorganize  subject-matter,  there  is  by  and 
large  among  junior-high-school  principals  and  teachers  a 

1  C.  H.  Johnston,  editorial  in  Educational  Administration  and  Super- 
vision, vol.  1,  pp.  411-12. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          157 

keener  interest  in  such  reorganization  than  among  the  repre- 
sentatives of  higher  schools.  This  interest  results  in  a  recep- 
tivity that  throws  on  theorists  and  their  interpreters,  the 
makers  of  textbooks,  the  gravest  responsibilities  for  the 
subject-matter  and  method  in  the  intermediate  period  for 
the  next  generation. 

The  purposes  of  education.  In  all  literature  concerning 
education  there  are  numerous  attempts  to  define  purposes. 
These  are  so  many  and  so  varied  in  their  emphasis  as  to 
suggest  that  each  person  must  find  or  formulate  a  statement 
of  peculiar  value  to  himself;  unless  the  statement  stimulates 
and  guides  him  in  the  task  of  leading  others  toward  "the 
good  life,"  it  is  merely  an  academic  exercise  and  without 
efficacy.  The  most  generally  helpful  statement,  like  the 
Golden  Rule  for  moral  conduct,  will  not  restrict  initiative 
and  individuality  by  undue  detail,  but  will  rather  guide  by 
large  principles,  throwing  on  each  individual  the  burden  of 
responsibility  for  interpretation  and  for  action. 

In  this  treatment  of  curricula  the  general  purposes  of  the 
school  are  conceived  to  be  two:  first  and  fundamental, 
to  teach  pupils  to  do  better  the  desirable  activities  that  they 
will  perform  anyway;  and,  second,  to  reveal  higher  types  of 
activities  and  to  make  these  both  desired  and  to  an  extent 
possible.  Approval  of  the  first  purpose  necessitates  the 
making  for  each  individual  pupil  or  group  of  pupils  of  an 
inventory  of  desirable  and  inevitable  activities;  from  this 
list  selection  must  from  time  to  time  be  made  on  the  basis 
of  relative  importance.  The  second  purpose,  which  is  to 
insure  growth  beyond  what  instincts  and  education  outside 
the  school  may  furnish,  demands  not  only  that  higher  activj- 


158  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

ties  shall  be  revealed,  but  that  they  shall  be  made  desirable 
and,  so  far  as  time  permits,  reasonably  possible. 

It  is  not  urged  that  these  or  any  similar  principles  be 
applied  in  such  manner  as  to  result  in  revolutionary  changes 
—  for  example,  in  the  discarding  of  the  conventional  sub- 
jects of  study  for  an  extreme  problem  method;  but  to  insure 
the  elimination  of  details  justified  only  by  tradition,  the 
logical  organization  of  the  topic,  or  unsubstantiated  ideas 
concerning  the  general  transfer  of  powers,  it  seems  entirely 
necessary  that  all  subject-matter  be  tested  by  such  accepted 
principles.  In  other  words,  as  Flexner  has  said, 1  the  modern 
school  should  "include  nothing  for  which  an  affirmative 
case  cannot  now  be  made  out." 

Another  general  statement  of  the  purposes  of  education 
is  that  by  the  Reviewing  Committee  of  the  National  Edu- 
cational Association  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education. 2  After  a  consideration  of  the  changes 
that  have  come  in  society,  in  the  secondary-school  popula- 
tion, and  in  educational  theory  —  specifically  as  concern 
individual  differences,  general  discipline,  applied  knowledge, 
and  the  continuity  of  development  of  children  —  it  proposes 
that  as 

the  purpose  of  education  in  a  democracy  is  so  to  organize  society 
that  each  member  may  develop  his  personality  primarily  through 
activities  designed  for  the  well-being  of  his  fellow-members  and  of 
society  as  a  whole,  education  in  a  democracy,  both  within  and  with- 
out the  school,  should  develop  in  each  individual  the  knowledge,  inter- 
ests, ideals,  habits,  and  powers,  whereby  he  will  find  his  place  and  use 
that  place  to  shape  both  himself  and  society  toward  ever  nobler  ends. 

1  The  Modern  School. 

2  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  35.  1918. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          1-59 

The  report  then  sets  up  as  the  main  objections  of  educa- 
tion — 

1.  Health. 

2.  Command  of  the  fundamental  processes. 

3.  Worthy  home-membership. 

4.  Vocation. 

5.  Citizenship. 

6.  The  worthy  use  of  leisure. 

7.  Ethical  character. 

It  later  argues  for  the  definite  recognition  of  such  objectives 
in  planning  curricula,  both  the  differentiating  and  integrat- 
ing functions,  education  as  a  process  of  growth,  the  need  for 
explicit  values,  and  the  subordination  of  deferred  values. 

Variety  and  continuity.  The  details  for  study,  selected  on 
the  basis  of  some  general  statement  of  the  purposes  of  edu- 
cation, will  fall  roughly,  but  less  severely  than  is  now  often 
required,  into  organization  around  conventional  subjects, 
thus  giving  the  material  for  courses  of  study,  from  which 
curricula  may  be  made.  The  purposes  presented  go  further 
in  determining  what  details  are  worthy  than  in  selecting 
among  them  those  that  are  relatively  of  most  worth.  In  one 
sense  a  curriculum  cannot  be  intelligently  formulated  until 
the  details  of  the  constituent  courses  are  fairly  well  known; 
and,  on  the  other  hand,  the  details  of  courses  are  in  a  meas- 
ure determined  by  what  supporting  courses  are  offered  — 
that  is,  by  the  whole  curriculum.  One's  estimation  of  the 
value  of  "English,"  for  instance,  or  of  any  other  subject, 
will  be  determined  partly  by  the  details  referred  to  general 
principles  and  partly  as  satisfying  the  needs  for  some  spe- 
cific, definite,  and  worthy  end. 


160  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

The  details  of  a  curriculum  should  promise  an  assured 
contribution  to  the  limited  life-aim  selected;  they  should 
also  in  combination  afford  preparation  for  a  well-rounded 
life.  As  pointed  out  by  students,  each  person  is  a  member 
of  social  units  of  various  size;  he  follows  a  trade  or  profession; 
and  he  lives  his  individual  intellectual  and  aesthetic  life. 
That  he  may  be  guided  and  enabled  to  live  a  life  of  fullness, 
a  variety  of  subjects  must  make  their  contribution  to  his 
education.  Whenever  the  junior  high  school  makes  a  pro- 
gram of  immediate  trade  preparation  alone,  it  acknowledges 
a  compromise  with  its  ideals  —  a  compromise  that  may  be 
necessary  in  order  to  restrain  the  pupil  from  prematurely 
entering  work  that  must  on  the  whole  be  profitless,  but  it  is 
an  admission  that  the  school  is  not  offering  what  it  believes 
generally  desirable  —  preparation  for  a  life  of  many  phases. 
Hence  the  general  acceptance  in  curriculum-making  of  the 
principle  of  variety. 

Another  important  principle  is  that  of  continuity.  There 
has  been  much  discussion  as  to  the  freedom  a  pupil  should 
have  in  changing  his  election  of  curriculum.  One  perplexed 
principal  sent  in  this  inquiry:  "How  long  should  a  pupil  be 
compelled  to  continue  a  subject  after  it  becomes  evident 
that  he  cannot  learn  it?"  Practice  differs  considerably. 
For  the  most  part,  change  is  permitted  in  junior  high  schools 
rather  freely,  with  the  result  that  undoubtedly  some  pupils 
drop  an  elected  study  merely  because  it  proves  difficult.  If 
a  curriculum  is  made  up  of  mere  fragments  of  work,  there 
can  be  little  promise  of  satisfactory  educational  results. 
The  ideal  would  seem  to  require  exploratory  courses  worth 
while  to  the  extent  taken,  followed  by  continued  and  in- 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          161 

creasing  differentiation,  as  appropriate  to  individual  needs 
as  possible. 

No  one  advocates  the  absurdly  small  unit  of  one  week  for 
any  given  subject;  how  long  it  should  continue  to  be  profit- 
able is  one  of  the  unsettled  problems.  The  answer  will 
depend,  of  course,  in  large  measure  on  the  nature  of  the  unit 
and  on  its  relation  to  a  proposed  hierarchy,  all  the  elements 
leading  definitely  to  desired  ends.  Many  schools  prescribe 
that  no  credit  shall  be  given  toward  graduation  for  a  study 
of  a  foreign  language  unless  it  is  pursued  for  one  or  for  two 
full  years.  As  the  languages  are  ordinarily  taught,  this 
admission  that  no  compensatory  value  results  from  a  few 
weeks  or  months  of  study,  is  probably  a  justification  for  the 
prescription.  But  we  can  conceive  of  a  material  reorgani- 
zation of  subject-matter  and  of  method  that  will  result 
in  a  course,  even  in  a  foreign  language,  that  is  profitable 
whether  continued  for  two  years,  two  months,  or  even  two 
weeks. 

In  a  school  that  is  frankly  exploratory  in  purpose  for 
pupils  of  uncertain  aims  it  is  difficult  to  discard  the  ideal 
of  substituting  assured  values  in  every  unit,  however  small, 
for  a  program  of  deferred  values  that  may  be  realized  only 
by  a  course  continued  longer  than  a  majority  of  the  pupils 
are  likely  to  remain  in  school.  If  this  ideal  is  earnestly 
sought  and  the  resultant  plans  sensibly  administered,  there 
should  be  many  small  dividends,  greater  certitude  as  to 
what  an  individual  pupil  should  or  should  not  continue, 
and  the  possibility  of  a  more  justifiable  demand  for  conti- 
nuity in  advanced  work. 

These  two  principles,  then  —  that  a  curriculum  by  variety 


162  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

of  offering  should  prepare  for  a  rpunded  life  and  that  every 
unit  should  have  either  a  considerable  continuity  or  assured 
value  in  its  smallest  units  —  determine  very  largely  the  selec- 
tion of  subject-matter  justified  by  the  two  general  theses 
stated  on  page  157. 

The  purposes  of  an  intermediate  school.  The  application 
to  the  intermediate-school  curricula  of  the  general  principles 
previously  stated  must  be  made  in  terms  of  the  purposes 
of  this  period  of  education.  The  first  of  these  purposes, 
which  were  briefly  stated  in  chapter  i,  is  to  continue,  in  so 
far  as  it  may  seem  wise  and  possible,  and  in  a  gradually 
decreasing  degree,  common,  integrating  education.  It  is 
probable  that  even  in  the  best  schools  there  will  remain  after 
the  sixth  grade  many  details  which,  because  of  the  generous 
conception  as  to  what  all  citizens  should  know  or  because 
of  the  immaturity  of  the  pupils,  have  not  been  taught. 
These,  when  presented  in  the  seventh,  eighth,  or  even  more 
advanced  grades,  continue  the  integrating  effect  of  educa- 
tion and  also  result  in  the  desirable  gradual  change  toward 
complete  differentiation.  It  is  quite  possible  that  the 
amount  of  this  common,  integrating  education  should  be 
determined  by  the  holding  power  of  the  school;  however 
profitable  a  curriculum  may  be  to  the  children  remaining  in 
school,  it  has  not  made  its  maximum  contribution  to  society 
unless  it  serves  both  to  hold  longer  the  large  number  who 
leave  as  soon  as  permitted  by  law  and  to  profit  them  also. 
When  the  compulsory-education  laws  are  changed  so  as 
generally  to  hold  pupils  until  they  are  sixteen  or  eighteen 
years  of  age,  the  whole  question  as  to  the  amount  of  common, 
integrating  education  may  be  opened  anew;  but  until  that 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          163 

time  we  must  formulate  our  programs  in  accordance  with 
the  facts  of  elimination  and  retention. 

It  must  not  be  thought  that  this  first  purpose  of  the  inter- 
mediate school  is  achieved  only  by  the  ordinary  curricula 
matter,  such  as  mathematics,  civics,  or  English;  toward  it 
contributions  are  made  also  by  extra-curricula  activities, 
such  as  school  assemblies,  clubs,  and  pupil  organizations  for 
participation  in  the  government  of  the  school,  all  of  which 
are  steadily  receiving  increased  recognition,  and  in  addition 
by  association  in  the  same  school  of  children  having  widely 
different  origins  and  aims,  but  making  and  sharing  in  a 
common  atmosphere  with  its  traditions  of  prejudices  and 
ideals.  The  economic  values  of  early  differentiating  schools 
preparing  for  academic,  industrial,  or  commercial  life,  must 
be  great  indeed  to  justify  the  loss  of  social  integration  in  the 
common  school. 

The  second  purpose  of  the  intermediate  school,  as  stated, 
is  to  ascertain  and  reasonably  to  satisfy  pupils'  important 
immediate  and  assured  future  needs.  Many  of  these,  espe- 
cially the  immediate  needs,  are  common  to  all  early  adoles- 
cents, and  so  their  satisfaction  also  contributes  to  the  first 
purpose.  Many  others,  both  the  immediate  and  especially 
the  future,  are  because  of  individual  differences  of  various 
kinds  not  common.  It  is  assumed  that  such  differences  as 
are  undesirable  and  as  can  be  removed  at  a  justifiable  cost 
to  society  will  be  eradicated.  But  there  remain  other  differ- 
ences —  in  mental  capacities,  in  age,  in  economic  status,  and 
in  family  traditions  toward  education.  Because  it  is  be- 
yond the  power  of  the  school  to  affect  these  latter  differences, 
it  is  necessary  to  provide  differentiated  training,  and  this 


164  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

can  wisely  be  done  only  after  a  serious  effort  has  been  made 
to  ascertain  what  differences,  especially  in  interests,  apti- 
tudes, and  capacities,  exist  and  necessitate  different  direc- 
tion or  training.  The  effort  to  make  all  pupils  alike,  which 
has  been  too  common  in  our  traditional  schools,  has  re- 
sulted not  only  in  eliminations,  but  frequently  also  in  unsat- 
isfactory training  of  those  for  whom  the  curriculum  and 
courses  primarily  were  prepared. 

Acceptance  of  the  obligation  to  prepare  for  the  important 
immediate  and  assured  future  needs  of  individuals  may 
necessitate  the  earlier  introduction  of  certain  courses  than 
would  be  approved  if  the  schools  had  assurance  of  later 
opportunity.  In  the  Bloom  Junior  High  School  of  Cincin- 
nati, the  pupils  of  which  as  a  rule  remain  only  through  the 
ninth  grade,  there  is  offered  a  course  in  the  care  of  infants. 
A  trained  nurse  and  a  kindergartner  cooperate  in  teaching 
the  girls  how  to  bathe,  dress,  feed,  entertain,  and  generally 
care  for  children  from  birth  to  the  time  they  enter  school. 
Although  many  of  these  girls  are  "little  mothers"  to  small 
brothers  and  sisters  at  home,  it  may  be  admitted  that  such 
a  course  would  be  better  if  offered  later,  shortly  before  mater- 
nity; but  no  agency  exists  either  for  presenting  such  a  course 
at  that  time  or  for  compelling  attendance.  Therefore  it  is  felt 
that  social  welfare  justifies  the  junior  high  school  in  under- 
taking the  task.  The  results  are  reported  to  be  satisfactory. 

What  the  important  immediate  and  assured  future  needs 
of  pupils  are  may  be  discovered  only  after  a  careful  and  con- 
tinued study  of  local  conditions,  the  intentions  of  pupils, 
and  the  histories  of  older  people  who  have  developed  in  sim- 
ilar surroundings.  That  they  may  not  be  known  with  full 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          165 

ness  and  accuracy  is  no  excuse  for  the  school's  not  attempt- 
ing to  ascertain  and  satisfy  them  as  nearly  as  possible. 
Approximation  is  better  than  a  continuance  of  training 
that  is  known  not  to  satisfy  either  immediate  or  future  needs 
of  the  large  majority  of  pupils.  Certainly  the  opportunities 
of  children  in  congested  districts  of  a  great  city  and  to  a 
large  extent  their  needs  are  different  from  those  of  other 
boys  and  girls  in  suburban  or  rural  homes.  One  metro- 
politan junior  high  school  has  thought  it  wise  by  means  of 
weekly  excursions  to  reveal  to  its  pupils  the  possibilities  for 
popular  education  provided  in  museums,  aquaria,  art  insti- 
tutes, memorials,  and  public  works,  utilizing  these  excursions 
to  stimulate  and  vivify  the  study  of  science,  fine  arts,  his- 
tory, civics,  and  English.  A  rural  school  might  adopt  the 
same  general  plan,  but  it  would  find  it  necessary  to  substi- 
tute other  institutions,  not  merely  because  they  are  accessi- 
ble, but  because  they  are  the  ones  that  in  all  probability  will 
most  affect  the  future  lives  of  most  of  its  pupils. 

When  an  intermediate  school  accepts  the  principle  that 
its  first  obligation  is  to  prepare  better  citizens  for  the  polit- 
ical unit  that  makes  local  education  possible,  it  will  cease 
copying  curricula  and  courses  of  study  prepared  for  very 
different  conditions  or  "for  schools  in  general."  .  On  the 
basis  of  the  suggested  study  of  local  needs  and  opportunities 
it  will  construct  programs,  if  not  for  individual  pupils,  then 
for  groups  or  majorities.  It  may  be  conceded,  however, 
that  peculiar  local  needs  will  necessitate  adaptations  more 
often  than  entire  invention  and  that  the  changes  will  con- 
stitute as  a  rule  only  a  minor  part  of  the  whole  curriculum. 

The  third  purpose  of  the  intermediate  school  is  to  explore, 


166  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

by  means  of  material  in  itself  worth  while,  the  interests, 
aptitudes,  and  capacities  of  pupils.  This  purpose,  like  the 
second,  is  based  on  a  recognition  of  insuperable  differences 
that  become  of  increasing  importance  as  pupils  approach 
the  age  of  leaving  school.  It  is  true  that  to  an  extent  inter- 
ests are  or  may  be  created  by  the  school,  but  even  more  they 
are  the  result  of  innate  factors  and  of  outside  environment. 
Aptitudes  and  capacities,  which  are  almost  entirely  innate, 
have  a  great  range.  These  can  be  made  identical,  if  at  all, 
only  at  an  unjustifiable  cost  to  individual  pupils  or  to  the 
public.  The  wasteful  effort  to  make  scholars  of  pupils  who 
have  aptitudes  for  mechanics,  or  to  give  a  professional 
training  to  those  who  inherit  a  capacity  for  doing  well  only 
those  tasks  that  may  be  satisfactorily  performed  by  limited 
intelligences,  has  been  abundantly  seen  in  the  past.  Not 
only  has  it  largely  failed  to  make  boys  and  girls  do  well  what 
they  were  unfitted  by  nature  to  do,  but  it  has  prevented 
those  who  were  fitted  from  getting  anything  like  the  maxi- 
mum benefit  from  their  studies.  Hence  it  is  that  the 
American  high  school  is  justly  criticized  severely  when  its 
product  is  compared  with  that  of  certain  European  second- 
ary schools  that  segregate  their  pupils  and  prepare  them 
according  to  their  capacities.  Although  we  are  properly 
unwilling  to  predestine  children  because  of  the  fortunes  of 
economic  or  social  status,  there  is  nothing  in  the  principles 
of  democracy  that  forbids  us  to  make  provisions  in  educa- 
tion according  to  the  predestinations  of  nature.  Only  by 
providing  at  adolescence  for  differences  in  interests,  apti- 
tudes, and  capacities  can  we  hope  to  give  an  "equal "  chance 
to  all  future  citizens. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         167 

As  there  are  no  means  of  knowing  with  any  degree  of  accu- 
racy the  differences  of  children  in  interests,  aptitudes,  and 
capacities  at  the  end  of  the  elementary-school  period,  it  is 
argued  that  it  is  an  essential  function  of  the  intermediate 
school  to  ascertain  what  these  differences  are,  so  that  ad- 
vanced schooling  may  offer  training  adapted  to  them.  The 
old  type  of  secondary  school  did  this  in  a  very  limited  way, 
offering  a  program  of  studies  which  showed,  by  the  failures, 
the  eliminations,  and  the  neglect  after  graduation,  that  it 
was  unsuited  to  a  large  percentage  of  pupils.  In  other 
words,  its  success  was  largely  in  negative  results.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  new  type  of  secondary  school  is  positive:  to  ascer- 
tain what  is  suited,  not  what  is  unsuited,  to  individual 
pupils. 

This  purpose  necessitates  a  much  wider  variety  of  offer- 
ings, primarily  in  "general"  courses,  than  the  traditional 
program  of  studies  provides,  and  it  proposes  to  begin  its 
study  of  differences  earlier  and  more  deliberately.  More 
than  this,  it  demands  that  the  material  for  exploration  so 
far  as  possible  be  justified  for  other  ends  of  education. 
Although  this  demand  would  ultimately  result  in  a  general 
reorganization  of  courses  of  study,  it  is  based  on  an  ideal 
that  may  be  measurably  met  by  emphasizing  in  the  junior 
high  school  the  elements  that  are  justifiable  by  some  of  the 
other  accepted  purposes,  by  omitting  those  that  are  not,  and 
by  making  a  careful  record  of  the  results  with  each  individual 
pupil  so  that  he  may  be  given  intelligent  guidance  for  the 
future. 

The  intermediate  school  courses  should  explore  the  inter- 
ests, aptitudes,  and  capacities  of  pupils  in  all  the  more  im- 


168  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

portant  fields  of  learning,  which  include  industrial  activities. 
The  following  argument L  for  positive  exploration  in  the 
field  of  manual  arts,  which  is  quoted  from  an  article  by  a 
superintendent  who  has  developed  one  of  the  most  effective 
junior  high  schools,  is  just  as  sound  when  applied  to  the 
field  of  belles-lettres: 

But  how  are  these  interests  and  abilities  to  be  determined?  It 
is  true  that  every  eighth-grade  teacher  has  watched  certain  of  her 
graduates  go  into  the  literary,  pure  science,  and  mathematics 
courses  of  the  high  school  knowing  that  they  were  doomed  to  failure 
in  these  lines.  Her  counsels  availed  little,  however,  when  opposed 
by  the  traditional  emphasis  upon  those  high-school  courses  which 
may  lead  ultimately  into  professional  life.  But  even  in  these  cases 
the  teacher  has  based  her  judgment  more  upon  what  the  pupil  has 
failed  to  do  in  courses  given  than  upon  what  he  had  accomplished 
in  other  directions.  This  is  obviously  true  because  the  grammar 
school  has  no  facilities  with  which  to  make  any  adequate  test  along 
lines  other  than  those  which  do  lead  to  the  general  courses  of  the 
upper  high  school. 

School  authorities  in  Rochester  believed  that  so  long  as  these 
broader  facilities  for  evoking  the  pupils'  interests  and  abilities  in 
the  great  field  of  manual  arts  were  not  made  a  reasonably  adequate 
part  of  their  lives  before  the  compulsory  education  law  had  been 
satisfied,  the  steady  withdrawal  of  such  a  large  percentage  of  the 
eighth-grade  graduates  from  this  community  and  the  traditional 
selection  of  the  literary  high-school  courses  on  the  part  of  so  many 
others  who  would  gain  but  meager  profit  from  such  courses  would 
inevitably  continue.  The  only  way  to  guarantee  these  facilities 
was  to  make  them  a  part  of  the  pupils'  school  work  before  com- 
pulsory attendance  had  released  its  hold  upon  the  child.  The 
problem  then  lay  in  preserving  a  sensible  balance  between  the  one 
extreme  represented  by  the  single-teacher  plan  of  grammar-school 
organization  and  the  other  extreme  of  premature  specialization. 
This  could  be  done  only  by  insistence  that  these  courses  for  seventh- 
and  eighth-grade  pupils  under  the  junior-high-school  organization 

1  Weet:  "Rochester's  Junior  High  Schools,"  Educational  Administration 
and  Supervision,  vol.  2,  pp.  437-38. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          169 

should  provide  so  far  as  possible  a  range  of  activities  sufficiently 
broad  to  bring  out  individual  interest  and  capacities  and  that 
they  should  be  emphatically  preparatory  and  prevocational. 

The  fourth  purpose  of  the  intermediate  school  is  to  reveal 
to  pupils,  by  material  otherwise  justifiable,  the  possibilities 
in  the  major  fields  of  learning.  The  high  school  has  for  a 
long  time  attempted  something  of  this  kind  in  such  subjects 
as  Latin  and  mathematics;  but  it  has  used  for  this  purpose 
material  of  most  value  only  if  the  subjects  were  continued 
to  advanced  stages.  In  other  words,  the  high  school  has 
emphasized  deferred  values,  and  in  so  doing  has  contributed 
far  less  than  it  might  to  the  pupils  who  were  eliminated 
or  who  transferred  to  other  curricula.  The  intermediate 
school  proposes  to  open  up  to  pupils  somewhat  earlier  the 
possibilities  in  higher  education,  so  that  each  pupil  may 
intelligently  elect  those  subjects  which  attract  his  interests, 
for  which  he  has  aptitudes  and  abilities,  and  which  while 
promising  to  satisfy  clearly  perceived  needs  stimulate  his 
ambitions.  It  is  believed  that  most,  if  not  all  subjects,  can 
reveal  their  possibilities  by  means  of  material  that  will  at 
the  same  time  contribute  to  some  of  the  other  enumerated 
purposes,  with  no  loss  to  themselves  and  with  assured  values 
to  the  pupils  who  drop  out  no  less  than  to  those  who  continue. 

How  will  the  exploratory  courses  differ  from  those  offered  at 
present?  In  the  first  place,  every  detail  will  in  itself  be  a  fact 
worth  knowing;  nothing,  absolutely  nothing,  at  this  period  of  a 
child's  training  will  depend  for  its  justification  wholly  or  even 
largely  on  its  deferred  values.  While  being  thus  of  worth,  the 
facts  presented  will  reveal  the  possibilities  in  the  general  field  of 
learning.  This  means,  of  course,  that  they  will  cover  a  larger  part 
of  each  field  than  now,  that  the  work  will  for  the  most  part  be 
extensive  rather  than  intensive.  In  literature  the  pupils  will  be 


170  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

led  to  read  widely,  beginning  with  what  they  really  like  and  pro- 
ceeding to  more  refined  masterpieces  only  as  growing  tastes,  mani- 
fested by  responses,  will  permit.  Instead  of  learning  fifty  facts 
apparently  of  more  or  less  equal  importance  about  one  classic,  they 
will  be  led  primarily  to  appreciate  the  one  big  fact  in  each  of 
twenty  classics.  If  they  advance  to  a  higher  study  of  literature, 
they  will  have  a  background  for  their  future  study  and  a  method 
of  relative  values;  if  they  do  not,  they  will  have  a  background  for 
their  future  reading  and  a  method  that  should  make  it  intelligent. 
Mathematics,  instead  of  being  confined  to  the  higher  reaches  of 
arithmetic,  will  concern  the  general  applications  of  arithmetic,  and 
will  introduce  the  elements,  the  more  practical  elements,  of  algebra, 
constructive  geometry,  and  even  of  trigonometry.  In  science  — 
general  science,  if  you  please  —  the  range  for  children  will  be  like 
the  range  for  real  scientists,  into  whatever  fields  the  solution  of 
real  problems  leads.  The  artificial  vertical  stratification  of  science 
into  chemistry,  physics,  botany,  and  the  rest  has  its  chief  value  in 
the  logical  organization  of  facts  after  they  have  been  acquired. 
Early  adolescence  is  the  age  for  acquiring  the  facts  of  science  and 
the  simple  principles  which,  while  useful  in  themselves,  reveal  the 
possibilities  in  future  study.  Acquired  matured  knowledge  fre- 
quently overlooks  the  earlier  naive  questions,  which  demand  honest 
answers  as  the  foundation  for  the  desired  progress  to  the  later  ones. 

Omitting  the  illustrations  from  the  fields  of  English  com- 
position, fine  arts,  music,  and  industrial  training,  we  may 
quote  in  conclusion  general  reasons  for  the  exploratory 
courses: 

This  exploration,  then,  gives  each  pupil  some  knowledge  of  the 
general  field  more  exhaustively  studied  in  higher  courses,  and  thus 
enables  him  to  choose  more  wisely  his  future  curriculum.  Our 
system  of  electives  in  the  senior  high  school  and  in  college  pre- 
supposes an  intelligent  and  informed  elector;  under  the  old  system 
he  might  be  intelligent  but  he  could  not  be  informed.  If,  as  is 
quite  possible,  such  exploring  courses  should  lead  a  pupil  into  a 
general  elective  which  later  he  might  wish  to  change,  he  still  could 
do  so  and  not  be  more  retarded  in  his  progress  than  most  pupils 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         171 

are  to-day.    Exploration  at  the  age  of  twelve  to  fourteen  is  much 
more  economical  than  it  is  two  or  more  years  later.1 

Try-out  courses  are  very  common  in  the  industrial  de- 
partments of  junior  high  schools.  Usually  a  pupil  is  given 
six  or  nine  weeks  in  a  particular  shop  before  being  moved  on 
to  the  next,  and  frequently  the  shop-work  is  supplemented 
by  a  study  of  vocations  and  visits  to  factories.  The  so- 
called  Ettinger  plan  2  in  New  York  City,  perhaps  the  most 
widely  known,  has  this  program.  In  New  Britain,  Con- 
necticut, the  pupils  repeat  the  cycle  in  the  second  year,  the 
work  being  somewhat  more  advanced  than  before,  and  then 
in  the  ninth  grade  enter  upon  intensive  training  for  some 
particular  trade. 

A  committee  of  the  National  Association  of  Secondary- 
School  Principals,  Paul  C.  Stetson,  chairman,  in  its  prelim- 
inary report  (1918)  strongly  advocated  that  the  junior  high 
school  be  considered  "essentially  a  finding  place"  for  indi- 
vidual pupils.  It  especially  recommends  that  "whenever 
possible  the  rotating  scheme  of  industrial  work  for  the  boys 
and  girls  of  the  junior  high  school  age  be  employed,"  and 
suggests  the  following  program: 


Grade 

Subject 

Semester 

Hours 

7-1 

Mechanical  drawing 

One 

100 

7-2 

Forge 

One 

100 

8-1 

Machine 

One 

100 

8-2 

Woodworking 

One 

100 

9-1 

Printing 

One 

100 

9-2 

Electrical 

One 

100 

1  Briggs :  Proceedings  of  the  Fifty-Second  Convocation  of  the  University  of 
the  State  of  New  York,  1916,  pp.  97-100.    Also  in  Education,  vol.  37,  pp. 
279-89. 

2  See  page  263-64. 


172  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

It  should  be  noted  that  a  longer  period  is  recommended  for 
the  try-out  than  that  used  now  by  most  schools  using  the 
same  general  plan. 

Such  a  try-out  course  may  be  profitable  even  to  boys  who 
assuredly  will  not  be  industrial  workers  in  that  it  may  afford 
training  in  the  mechanical  tasks  that  most  householders  are 
from  time  to  time  called  on  to  perform  and  at  the  same  time 
an  understanding  of  the  work  of  men  following  these  voca- 
tions. Such  an  understanding  of  vocations  other  than  one's 
own  is  in  a  way  cultural  and,  moreover,  it  contributes  to  the 
general  integration  essential  in  a  democracy. 

Sentiment  is  strong  for  the  extension  of  this  plan  of  "re- 
vealing courses  "  to  all  departments  of  the  junior  high  school. 
To  the  question,  "Do  you  favor  the  offering  of  general 
courses  which,  practical  in  themselves,  acquaint  the  pupils 
with  the  possibilities  in  the  general  fields  of  learning  and 
hence  make  future  election  more  intelligent?"  there  were 
241  replies  —  221,  or  93.4  per  cent,  being  "Yes,"  4  being 
"To  a  limited  extent,"  and  12,  or  less  than  five  per  cent,  being 
"No."  And  an  unmistakable  tendency  toward  exploratory 
work  in  the  several  subjects  is  observed  in  the  schools  that 
have  seriously  undertaken  reorganization  of  their  courses. 

The  courses  of  study  for  all  the  junior  high  schools,  most 
of  them  small,  in  Vermont  have  been  developed  as  explora- 
tory. The  supervisor  of  junior  high  schools  writes:  l 

In  the  small  junior  high  school  such  as  is  common  in  this  state, 
it  is  a  mistake  to  organize  clearly  defined,  differentiated  courses, 
such  as  commercial,  scientific  and  college  preparatory,  and  require 
pupils  to  select  one  of  them  upon  entrance.  Such  an  arrangement 

1  Vermont  Bulletin  1,  1918,  pp.  17,  18. 


173 

tends  to  shunt  pupils  into  certain  lines  which  may  be  determined 
by  transient  interests,  and  although  they  may  come  to  realize  that 
they  are  "misfits"  the  system  makes  transfers  inconvenient  if  not 
impossible. 

Furthermore,  there  is  nothing  to  be  gained  hi  confronting  pupils 
at  an  early  age  with  the  problem  of  deciding  just  which  course 
they  wish  to  pursue.  The  evils  involved  in  requiring  pupils  to 
make  such  choices  at  a  later  time  can  be  overcome  only  by  having 
pupils  in  the  junior  high  school,  and  particularly  in  the  first  two 
years,  become  acquainted  with  a  rather  broad  range  of  subjects. 
With  the  information  thus  acquired  concerning  the  various  subjects 
and  a  knowledge  of  his  own  interests,  aptitudes,  and  capacities  the 
pupil  goes  to  high  school  prepared  to  elect  courses  because  they 
minister  to  his  felt  needs.  Two  young  ladies  in  a  Vermont  high 
school  "explored"  the  commercial  course  during  their  sophomore 
year.  They  found  it  to  be  most  unattractive  to  them  and  trans- 
ferred to  the  general  course  the  next  year.  When  they  graduated 
the  past  spring  they  found  the  doors  to  college  closed  to  them. 
They  are  anxious  to  enter  but  feel  that  they  cannot  spend  an  addi- 
tional year  in  preparation.  Would  it  not  have  been  much  more 
economical,  much  less  of  a  tragedy,  if  they  had  explored  this  field 
during  their  seventh  or  eighth  year? 

There  is  a  general  feeling  to-day  that,  hi  the  mam,  seventh-  and 
eighth-grade  pupils  will  be  better  equipped  for  the  future  for  having 
taken  extensive  courses  touching  several  fields  than  for  having 
done  intensive,  specialized  work  in  a  single  field.  There  may  be 
exceptions  to  this  where  pupils  must  prepare  in  the  least  possible 
time  for  specific  work,  but  as  a  rule  if  pupils  drop  out  early  they 
will  find  an  elementary  acquaintance  with  general  fields  of  knowl- 
edge most  helpful.  If  they  remain  in  school  such  an  experience 
gives  intelligent  direction  and  point  to  all  then-  future  work. 

The  Commission  on  the  Reorganization  of  Secondary 
Education  recommends  *  that 

the  pupil  ordinarily  should  be  assisted  at  about  twelve  or  thirteen 
to  begin  to  make  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  activities  of  adult  life 
and  of  his  own  aptitudes  hi  connection  therewith,  so  that,  in  part, 

1  United  States  Bureau  of  Education  Bulletin  35,  1918, 


174  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

he  may  choose  at  least  tentatively  some  field  of  human  endeavor 
for  special  consideration.  Following  the  period  of  preliminary  sur- 
vey and  provisional  choice,  he  should  have  opportunity  to  acquire 
a  more  intimate  knowledge  of  the  field  chosen,  including  therewith 
an  appreciation  of  the  social  significance  of  that  field,  and  for  those 
whose  schooling  ends  here  some  mastery  of  the  technique  involved. 
The  field  chosen  will  be  for  some  as  sharply  defined  as  a  specific 
trade;  for  others,  it  will  be  but  the  preliminary  choice  of  a  wider 
domain  within  which  a  narrower  choice  will  later  be  made. 

For  economical  classroom  organization  Snedden  offers  1 
an  interesting  suggestion.    He  proposes 

to  divide  the  studies  offered,  or  even  portions  of  given  studies  into 
two  distinct  groups,  with  reference  to  one  of  which  quite  exacting 
standards  of  scholarship  shall  be  maintained  as  regards  the  ability 
of  the  pupil  to  stand  tests,  to  explain,  and  interpret  what  he  has 
learned,  and  to  retain  it  as  a  permanent  possession;  and  with 
reference  to  the  second  category,  that  the  standards  of  approach 
shall  be  those  characteristics  of  learning  primarily  for  appreciation. 
This  distinction,  made  between  studies  on  the  one  hand,  or  between 
definite  portions  of  such  studies  as  natural  science,  social  science, 
practical  arts,  etc.,  ought  to  be  of  considerable  value  in  reducing 
the  amount  of  time  necessary  for  the  actual  teaching  required. 
Personally,  I  believe  that  we  shall  yet  work  out  a  very  extensive 
scheme  of  liberal  education,  based  upon  what  is  here  called  the 
standards  and  methods  of  appreciation.  I  believe  that  by  the  use 
of  libraries,  home  reading,  and  amateur  constructive  work  hi  the 
practical  arts,  we  shall  be  able  to  achieve  valuable  ends  with  a  very 
great  reduction  of  the  teaching  force  now  required. 

This  suggestion  has  been  adopted  in  the  curricula  for  the 
junior  and  senior  high  schools  of  New  Hampshire. 

The  fifth,  and  final,  purpose  of  the  junior  high  school  is  to 
start  each  pupil  on  the  career  which,  as  a  result  of  the  explo- 
ratory courses,  he,  his  parents,  and  the  school  are  convinced 
is  most  likely  to  be  of  profit  to  him  and  to  the  State.    Based 
1  Problems  of  Secondary  Education,  pp.  119,  120. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         175 

on  courses  exploratory  of  the  pupils'  interests,  aptitudes,  and 
capacities,  and  for  them  of  possibilities  in  the  major  fields 
of  learning,  the  beginning  of  differentiation  in  work  should 
be  more  in  accord  with  life  needs  than  it  can  be  under  the 
present  organization.  It  is  certain,  however,  that  some 
young  people,  like  some  adults,  will  change  their  intentions 
after  launching  on  an  elected  curriculum.  Inasmuch  as  in 
the  junior  high  school  the  differentiation  will  be  gradual, 
such  pupils  as  wish  to  change  may  do  so  with  a  minimum  of 
loss;  but  it  is  only  reasonable  to  hold  that  every  major 
change  of  life  purpose  must  be  paid  for  in  time  and  effort. 
The  Solvay  (New  York)  Junior  High  School  has  an  adjust- 
ment year  for  those  pupils  who  had  started  work  for  which 
they  later  proved  unsuited,  permitting  all  others  to  proceed 
with  some  saving  of  time  on  their  elected  curricula.  Most 
schools,  however,  are  likely  to  transfer  pupils  from  one  cur- 
riculum to  another  with  an  actual  loss  of  learning  for  specific 
life  purposes,  but  with  little  or  no  penalty  toward  graduation. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  "graduation  "  from  the  junior  high  school 
is  likely  to  receive  less  and  less  attention  as  pupils  are  sent 
onward  to  higher  work  for  which  they  are  fitted. 

This  purpose,  be  it  noted,  is  after  exploration  to  start 
pupils  on  differentiated  work:  the  suggestions  are  that  the 
differentiation  has  been  rationally  determined,  that  it  is 
gradual,  and  that  it  furnishes  a  transition  to  the  period  when 
each  individual  assumes  the  responsibility  for  his  own  future. 
If  the  work  that  he  has  begun  proves  interesting,  suitable 
to  his  powers,  and  promising  of  sufficient  contribution  to  his 
vocation,  he  is  likely  to  find  some  way  of  continuing  it; 
otherwise,  the  chances  are  strong  that  as  soon  as  he  leaves 


176  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

the  junior  high  school  he  will  turn  to  something  else,  prob- 
ably discontinuing  his  formal  study  altogether.  The  school, 
then,  assumes  the  responsibility  not  only  of  directing  the 
exploration,  but  also  of  helping  to  so  sound  a  decision  and 
so  profitable  a  beginning  of  differentiated  work  that  it  will 
be  continued  in  other  types  of  schools  as  long  as  it  proves 
profitable. 

Extreme  differentiation  in  the  junior  high  school  is  seldom 
if  ever  advocated  for  normal  pupils.  The  general  attitude 
is  well  represented  by  the  two  following  quotations: 

Any  one  who  is  disposed  to  divide  the  course  of  study  of  the 
seventh  grade  into  entirely  separate  and  distinct  curricula  for 
different  children  does  violence  to  the  fundamental  demands  of  a 
democratic  organization.  On  the  other  hand,  any  one  who  would 
hold  the  course  of  study  at  any  point  to  rigid  and  narrow  lines  does 
violence  to  the  narrow  demands  which  express  themselves  in  the 
differentiated  interests  of  the  pupils.1 

[The]  committee  feels  that  extreme  differentiation  in  the  matter 
of  curricula  is  not  desirable.  We  believe  it  is  wrong  to  allow  sev- 
enth-grade pupils  to  elect  courses  which  will  definitely  determine 
and  limit  their  future  school  life.  Individual  pupils  may  always 
be  made  an  exception  to  the  general  rule.3 

The  opposition  to  fully  differentiated  curricula  during  or 
before  the  ninth  school  year  is  generally  waived  for  one  class 
of  pupils  —  those  who  more  or  less  retarded  are  approaching 
the  end  of  the  period  of  compulsory  education  with  minda 
fully  set  on  leaving  school.  For  such  pupils  there  is  general 
agreement  that  highly  individualized  programs  should  be 
prepared.  For  them  the  work  may  be  strictly  vocational 
as  many  hours  as  need  be,  the  hope  being  that  in  their  last 

1  Bagley  and  Judd:  School  Review,  vol.  26,  p.  321. 

2  Committee  of  National  Association  of  High-School  Principals,  P,  C. 
Stetson,  chairman,  1916. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         177 

months  in  school  they  will  acquire  also  some  facts,  princi- 
ples, and  ideals  which  may  later  contribute  toward  a  more 
full  and  rounded  life. 

Ideally  the  beginnings  of  differentiation  should  be  in  the 
junior  high  school  so  that  pupils  may  go  on  gradually  to 
more  completely  individualized  work;  but  it  is  obvious  that 
the  smaller  the  school,  the  less  differentiation  is  possible. 
In  many  places,  then,  it  will  be  wise  for  the  schools  to  con- 
centrate their  efforts  toward  satisfying  the  first  four  pur- 
poses discussed,  leaving  the  last  one  to  specialized  schools 
in  their  own  or  other  localities.  When  only  one  curriculum 
can  be  offered,  it  is  postulated  that  it  shall  be  so  constructed 
as  to  promise  the  maximum  return  to  the  local  community 
and  to  the  majority  of  pupils  in  the  class.  The  curricula 
and  courses  of  study  in  Vermont  junior  high  schools  are  more 
nearly  consistent  with  these  principles  than  any  other  that 
have  been  examined.  There  the  offerings  often  depart 
widely  from  those  in  a  "college  preparatory  course,"  not 
because  of  any  hostility  to  higher  education,  but,  rather, 
because  of  the  needs  of  the  majority  of  pupils  in  the  com- 
munity. Ordinarily  those  intending  to  go  to  college  can 
satisfy  any  reasonable  requirements  before  completing  the 
senior  high  school;  but  if  only  the  needs  of  the  majority  of 
pupils  in  the  community  are  supplied  by  the  school,  the 
special  needs  of  the  minority  must  be  satisfied  privately  by 
individual  parents,  by  larger  political  units  such  as  the 
State  or  Nation,  or  remain  unsupplied. 

The  foregoing  principles  are  presented  as  representing  the 
ideals  of  the  junior  high  school  and  its  tendencies.  It  will 
be  futile  to  look  anywhere  for  a  perfect  exemplification  in 


178  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

practice  of  these  ideals;  the  movement  is  too  young,  the 
demands  of  physical  reorganization  have  been  too  pressing, 
and  the  possibilities  have  often  been  conceived  in  too  limited 
a  manner.  But  in  many  schools  there  are  significant  changes 
in  details  of  this  course  or  the  other,  as  some  teacher  has 
had  vision,  independence,  and  originality,  or  as  some  local 
demand  has  been  so  strong  as  to  secure  modifications  in 
subject-matter.  And  the  newer  textbooks  are  spreading  to 
other  teachers  and  other  schools  outlines  of  courses  that  are 
considerably  changed  from  those  now  most  generally  used. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  as  the  junior-high-school 
movement  spreads  the  modifications  in  subject-matter  will 
increase  —  in  fact,  its  spread  and  continuance  depend  very 
largely  on  the  adaptations  of  curricula  and  courses  to  satisfy 
social  and  industrial  demands.  Some  general  principles  — • 
either  those  presented  in  this  chapter  or  substitutions  for 
them  —  are  needed,  and  the  more  frankly  such  principles 
are  considered  the  greater  the  probabilities  of  educational 
success. 

Proposed  curricula.  One  of  the  most  fundamentally 
sound  considerations  of  the  junior-high-school  curricula  is 
that  of  Bonser  in  "  Democratizing  Secondary  Education  by 
the  Six-Three-Three  Plan."  1  Using  data  in  the  Census 
Report  of  1910,  he  states  that  in  all  fields  of  vocations  but 
two  —  public  service  and  professional  service,  which  claim 
only  5.6  per  cent  of  men  and  women  — 

a  great  majority  of  workers  usually  begin,  and  will  continue  to 
begin,  wage  earning  by  the  age  of  fourteen,  sixteen,  or  eighteen 
years.  Their  preparation  for  both  wage  earning  and  the  other 

1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  1,  pp.  567-76. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         179 

activities  of  citizenship  is  seldom  more  than  from  two  to  four  years 
beyond  the  sixth  grade,  and  at  best  rarely  more  than  six  years. 
The  intrinsic  nature  and  the  vocational  destiny  of  most  of  our 
population  therefore  call  for  differentiation  in  treatment  at  from 
two  to  six  years  before  they  leave  school  for  the  vocations. 

The  differentiation  needed  from  both  the  psychological  and 
social  standpoints  does  not  by  any  means  require  group  isolation. 
Rather  more  than  half  of  the  interests  and  the  means  of  appro- 
priate growth  are  still  common  to  all  children  in  the  seventh,  eighth, 
and  ninth  school  years.  It  is  in  those  subjects  and  fields  only  in 
which  marked  differences  are  evident  that  differentiation  is  needed. 
Individual  capacities,  inclinations,  purposes,  and  considerations  of 
time  will  usually  determine  lines  of  selection.  Where  doubt  exists 
a  conference  of  parents  and  teachers  will  usually  help  to  point  the 
way. 

The  aptitudes  of  pupils  and  the  vocational  purposes  toward 
which  they  incline  pupils  will  lead  to  a  fairly  well-defined  division 
into  five  groups  where  large  numbers  of  pupils  are  considered. 
These  may  be  called,  respectively,  the  academic,  the  industrial, 
the  commercial,  the  agricultural,  and  the  household  arts  groups. 
In  small  schools,  one  or  more  of  these  groups  may  not  be  large 
enough  to  justify  representation  by  differentiated  courses  [curric- 
ula]. In  such  cases  compromises  will  not  be  difficult.  .  .  . 

The  differentiations  will  call  for  elective  courses  of  five  general 
groups  somewhat  as  follows: 

Academic  —  foreign  languages,  algebra,  geometry,  technical 
English. 

Industrial  —  industrial  arts,  industrial  drawing  and  design, 
industrial  mathematics,  industrial  science. 

Commercial  —  bookkeeping,  accounting,  salesmanship,  office 
practice,  typewriting,  stenography,  commercial  forms. 

Agricultural  —  elementary  agriculture,  farm  mechanics,  farm 
mathematics  and  accounts. 

Household  Arts  —  textiles  and  clothing,  foods  and  cookery, 
interior  design  and  decoration,  household  management  and 
accounts. 

Bonser  makes  no  attempt  to  distribute  the  work  in  any 
of  these  fields  through  the  three  years. 


180  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

The  purpose  [he  continues]  is  to  indicate  that  for  each  group  there 
is  a  definite  content  appealing  to  the  varied  interests  and  capacities 
of  pupils  and  pointing  toward  the  large  fields  of  vocational  differ- 
entiation. 

By  rating  each  year's  work  at  thirty  units,  a  distribution  of  eight- 
een to  work  in  common  and  twelve  in  the  differentiated  field,  gives 
a  total  of  fifty-four  in  common  and  thirty-six  in  the  group  courses. 
The  fifty-four  units  covering  subject-matter  of  common  value  and 
about  equal  interest  if  properly  humanized  may  be  distributed  as 
follows : 

12  units English 

8  units History 

8  units Geography 

8  units Elementary  science 

5  units Everyday  mathematics  and  economics 

6  units Civics,  problems  in  institutional  and  vo- 

cational life 

4  units Physical  education 

3  units Music 

The  thirty-six  remaining  units  may  be  made  up  by  selecting 
entirely  from  the  offerings  in  any  one  of  the  five  groups  selected  in 
the  foregoing,  or  by  some  selection  from  two  or  more  groups. 

The  whole  problem  is  not  so  much  one  of  new  courses  [curricula], 
or  new  administrative  machinery,  as  it  is  of  reorganization  and 
redirection  of  much  of  the  secondary  school  work  in  terms  of  twen- 
tieth-century social  needs  and  values. 

After  outlining  historically  the  curriculum  changes  in  one 
high  school,  Newlon  l  tells  how  a  satisfactory  condition  was 
secured  by  offering  a  number  of  curricula  diversified  accord- 
ing to  the  needs  of  the  pupils,  in  each  of  which  certain  groups 
of  subjects  were  required  for  the  purpose  of  securing  integra- 
tion, continuity  of  work,  and  a  desirable  mastery  in  some 
fields.  Newlon  continues: 

1  "The  Need  of  a  Scientific  Curriculum  Policy  for  Junior  and  Senior 
High  Schools,"  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  3,  pp.  253- 
68. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         181 

All  that  I  have  said  concerning  the  problems  of  curriculum  mak- 
ing in  the  senior  high  school  will,  in  my  opinion,  hold  good  in  the 
junior  high  school.  The  same  principles  of  curriculum  differentia- 
tion, of  constants  and  of  sequence  and  diversity,  will  hold  in  the 
junior  cycle  that  will  hold  in  the  senior  cycle  of  our  secondary 
schools.  .  .  .  The  growth  of  the  junior-high-school  idea  means  that 
in  this  country,  students  of  education  and  administrators  of 
schools  are  rapidly  accepting  the  proposition  that  differentiation 
of  curriculums  ought  to  begin  in  the  seventh  year.  The  differentia- 
tion in  the  junior  high  school  will  not  be  as  distinct  as,  and  will 
not  be  carried  to  anything  like  the  extent  that  it  will  be  carried 
in  the  senior  high  school. 

What  curriculums  will  there  be  in  the  junior  high  school?  In 
general,  there  will  be  the  following:  college  preparatory,  general, 
commercial,  industrial,  household  arts,  a  total  of  five  for  those 
students  destined  to  enter  the  senior  high  school.  In  addition, 
there  will  be  a  group  of  curriculums  of  a  highly  specialized  trade 
character  for  those  who  will  never  enter  the  senior  high  school, 
but  will  at  once  become  wage-earners. 

The  principles  of  diversity  and  sequence,  and  of  constants, 
applicable  to  curriculum  making  in  the  junior  high  school  will  be 
the  same  as  in  the  senior  high  school.  If  we  accept  the  principles 
of  differentiation  in  the  junior-high-school  grades,  the  problem  of 
constants,  or  of  the  common  elements  as  they  are  called  by  Pro- 
fessor Bagley,  is  a  matter  of  supreme  importance.  For  very  obvi- 
ous reasons,  more  work  in  more  different  subjects  will  be  prescribed 
for  all  students  in  the  junior  high  school  than  in  the  senior  high 
school.  To  the  prescription  of  English,  social  science,  science, 
music,  and  physical  education  in  the  senior  high  school  must  be 
added  arithmetic,  geography,  and  probably  the  manual  arts  in  the 
junior  high  school.  Some  great  educational  battles  will  be  fought 
over  the  amount  of  time  to  be  given  to  these  constants  in  the  junior 
high  school  and  to  the  character  of  the  subject-matter  and  method 
in  these  courses.  The  disagreement  as  to  the  content,  organiza- 
tion, method,  and  length  of  the  general  science  course  is  character- 
istic of  the  chaotic  condition  as  regards  these  constants  in  the 
junior  high  school  at  the  present  time.  The  situation  as  regards 
general  science  is  simply  notorious,  but  the  condition  as  regards 
mathematics,  the  social  sciences,  and,  perhaps,  some  other  subjects, 
is  not  less  chaotic.  Every  development  in  these  grades  points 


182  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

clearly,  however,  to  the  general  adoption  of  differentiation  above 
the  sixth  grade.  These  constants  will  be  permitted,  therefore,  to 
take  only  so  much  time  as  will  allow  opportunity  for  the  working 
out  of  such  definite  curriculums  as  have  been  described  above. 

The  very  fact  that  the  number  of  constants  will  be  greater  hi  the 
junior  high  school  than  in  the  senior  high  school  will  make  less 
difficult  the  problem  of  sequence  and  diversity.  Once  the  battle 
has  been  fought  and  the  constants  agreed  upon  the  matter  of 
sequence  and  diversity  will  have  been  practically  settled.  There 
will  be  a  sufficient  number  of  constants  running  through  two  or 
three  years  of  the  junior  high  school  to  assure  both  the  desired 
sequence  and  diversity. 

The  North  Central  Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary 
Schools  in  1918  recommended  that: 

The  appropriate  subjects  for  the  junior  high  school  may  be  classi- 
fied in  the  following  groups: 

1.  Mathematics;  2.  Social  Studies;  3.  Natural  Science;  4.  Lan- 
guage; 5.  Fine  and  Practical  Arts  such  as  Music,  Drawing,  Manual 
Arts,  and  Commercial  Subjects. 

The  administration  of  the  program  of  subjects  and  courses  shall 
be  such  as  to  avoid  a  stereotyped  line  of  work  for  all  junior  high- 
school  pupils,  but  sufficiently  restricted  as  to  insure  for  all  pupils 
a  wide  distribution  in  the  election  of  subjects  and  a  continuity  of 
at  least  two  years'  work  in  three  different  groups  of  the  five  junior 
high-school  groups  specified.  It  is  further  recommended  that  pro- 
vision be  made  for  progress  of  pupils  in  accelerated,  median,  and 
slow  groups. 

Perhaps  the  most  comprehensive  and  at  the  same  time 
definite  of  the  considerations  of  the  junior-high-school  cur- 
riculum is  that  by  Inglis.1  Because  of  its  importance  it  is 
quoted  in  full. 

Below  are  outlined  two  forms  of  curriculum  organization  which 
are  suggested  as  possible  schemes  for  the  junior  high  school  — 
grades  seven,  eight,  and  nine.  Neither,  of  course,  is  to  be  consid- 

1  Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  pp.  685-87. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY 


183 


ered  as  the  necessary  or  even  the  most  desirable  form  of  organiza- 
tion. The  sole  purpose  in  presenting  the  two  forms  of  organization 
is  to  illustrate  possible  ways  in  which  principles  previously  con- 
sidered may  be  applied. 


Grade  7 

Studies  Periods 

Constants: 

English 5 

Geography  (3),  history 

(2). 5 

Physiology  and  hygiene     3 

Arithmetic 5 

Physical  education ....     2 
Music  (appreciation). .     2 
Practical  arts:  domes- 
tic arU  (girls);  man- 
ual arts  (boys) _5 

Total  constants 27 

Variables: 
English:  various 

branches    for    those 

deficient 2 

Arithmetic:    for   those 

deficient 2 

Foreign  languages 6 

Fine  arts.... 3 

Music  (technical). ...  3 

Commercial  studies . .  5 

Clerical  studies 5 

Industrial  studies ....  5 

Domestic  studies ....  6 

Agricultural  studies . .   5 

Total  variables 4H8 


FORM  I 

GradeS 

Studies  Periods 

Constants: 

English 6 

History  (U.S.),  civics...     6 

General  science 5 

Mathematics:  (A)  com- 
bined arithmetic,  al- 
gebra, geometry;  or 
(B)  commercial 

arithmetic 4 

Physical  education ....     2 

Music  (appreciation) . . .  _2 

Total  constants 23 

Variables: 
English:  various 

branches    for      those 

deficient 2 

Foreign  languages 5 

Fine  arts .'..     8 

Music  (technical) 3 

Commercial  studies. .  .5-10 

Clerical  studies 5-10 

Industrial  studies 6-10 

Domestic  studies 5-10 

Agricultural  studies. .  .5-10 


Total  variables 8-12 


Grade9 

Studies  Periods 

Constants: 

English 5 

Community  civics ...  5 

General  science 6 

Physical  education. . .  2 

Music  (appreciation).  2 


Total  constants. . .   19 

Variables: 
Foreign  languages ...     5 

Mathematics 5 

History 4 

Fine  arts 6 

Music  (technical) 3 

Commercial  studies. 5-15 

Clerical  studies 5-15 

Industrial  studies. .  .5-15 
Domestic  studies.  .  .6-15 
Agricultural  studies. 5-15 


Total  variables..  12-12 


NOTES:  1.  The  numbers  of  periods  set  are  merely  approximations  and  intended  to  be  sug- 
gestive rather  than  fixed. 

2.  The  practical  arts  constant  in  the  seventh  grade  may  be  made  diagnostic 
"short-unit"  courses  if  desired. 

3.  It  is  not  expected  that  all  schools,  perhaps  not  any  school,  will  provide  all  the 
studies  listed  under  variables.     The  extended  list  is  presented  for  selection 
according  to  the  needs  and  resources  of  any  given  school. 

4.  It  is  expected  that  the  more  able  pupils  may  pass  directly  from  the  eighth  grade 
into  the  senior  high  school. 

5.  Definitely  separated  curriculums  may  be  organized  for  special  groups  of  pupils 
who  will  leave  school  at  the  close  of  the  ninth  grade,  if  that  course  appears 
justified. 

Form  I  illustrates  a  possible  curriculum  organization  for  a  junior 
high  school  where  no  provision  is  made  for  supervised  study  or 
combined  recitation-study  periods.  The  number  of  class  meetings 
is  assumed  to  correspond  to  present  practice  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades,  that  is,  about  thirty  to  thirty-five  class  meetings 
per  week,  the  length  of  each  period  being  approximately  thirty 
minutes. 


184  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

FORM  II 

Grade  7  Grade  8  Grade  9 

Studie*                   Periodt  Studiet  Period*  Studiei  Period* 

Constants:  Conttants:  Constant!: 

English 5        English 5        English.. 5 

Geography  and  history  S        History  and  civics 5  Community  civics ...     4 

Arithmetic 5         General  science 4         General  science 4 

Physiology  and  hygiene  3         Mathematics 4  Physical  education. . .     2 

Physical  education. . . .  2        Physical  education 2 

Practical  arts _5 

Total  constants 25            Total  constants 20  Total  constants ...   15 

Variable! 5     Variable* 10     VariMei 15 

NOTES:  The  notes  appended  to  Form  I  apply  here.    The  same  studies  as  those  in  Form  I 
are  meant  here.    The  variables  are  the  same  here  as  for  Form  I. 

Form  II  illustrates  a  possible  curriculum  organization  where 
provision  is  made  for  combined  recitation-study  periods.  The 
entire  school  day  is  assumed  to  be  seven  hours  in  length  —  one 
half-hour  each  day  for  assembly,  opening  exercises,  music,  and 
auditorium  work,  one  half-hour  each  day  for  lunch,  and  six  hours 
net  (including  time  for  changing  classes)  for  class  meetings,  each 
period  being  one  hour  in  length  (inclusive  of  time  for  change  of 
classes).  The  same  program  may  be  encompassed  in  a  six-hour 
day  where  each  period  is  made  fifty  minutes  in  length. 

Curricula  offered.  From  a  study  of  the  curricula  in  75 
junior  high  schools  (only  31  having  a  ninth  grade)  Douglass l 
found  that  optional  work  was  offered  by  55  per  cent  of  the 
schools  in  the  seventh  grade,  by  67  per  cent  in  the  eighth, 
and  by  97  per  cent  in  the  ninth.  The  details  concerning 
the  several  subjects  are  displayed  in  Table  XXIII  as  A;  the 
details  opposite  B  are  from  18  cities  which  have  junior  high 
schools  conforming  to  a  definition  that  requires:  (1)  separate 
organization;  (2)  differentiated  curricula;  and  (3)  promo- 
tion by  subject.  The  curricula  of  only  six  of  these  cities 
were  considered  by  Douglass.  The  differences  between  the 
two  groups  of  curricula  are  chiefly  that  the  group  of  cities 

1  Douglass:  The  Junior  High  School,  pp.  78-87. 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          185 


TABLE  XXIII 

SHOWING  BY  PERCENTAGES  THE  OFFERINGS  IN  REPRESENTATIVE- 
JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 
A,  from  Douglass  data;  B,  from  original  data 


Seventh  Orade 

Eighth  Grade 

Ninth  Orade 

1 

1 

1 

2 

•1 

1 

•3 

j 

I 

1 

^ 

1 

f 

1 

3 

I 

^ 

1 

English                     A 

100 

100 

100 

B 

100 

94 

6 

100 

Social  Sciences          A 

100 

95 

4 

i 

29 

ei 

io 

B 

62 

12 

26 

83 

6 

11 

20 

47 

33 

Mathematics            A 

100 

92 

8 

45 

55 

B 

100 

83 

11 

6 

67 

26 

7 

Science                     A 

19 

's 

73 

24 

20 

56 

23 

74 

3 

B 

12 

19 

69 

17 

17 

66 

40 

33 

27 

Geography                B 

63 

13 

24 

33 

67 

40 

60 

Hygiene                    A 

56 

8 

36 

56 

5 

39 

23 

35 

42 

B 

31 

69 

55 

22 

23 

13 

13 

71 

Foreign  Languages  A 

7 

40 

53 

7 

57 

36 

100 

B 

6 

75 

19 

6 

88 

6 

80 

20 

Art                            A 

64 

16 

20 

52 

23 

25 

26 

48 

26 

B 

69 

19 

12 

33 

33 

33 

7 

67 

36 

Music                       B 

63 

13 

24 

61 

22 

17 

40 

40 

20 

Industrial  Arts          A 

45 

32 

23 

37 

49 

14 

13 

74 

13 

B 

75 

25 

56 

33 

11 

13 

80 

7 

Commerce                A 

1 

17 

82 

1 

32 

67 

55 

45 

B 

37 

63 

28 

11 

61 

73 

27 

with  junior  high  schools  tested  by  the  definition  offer  a  more 
generous  program  of  studies  and  a  larger  number  of  options. 
In  so  far  as  the  curricula  from  which  the  table  is  compiled 
are  representative,  Douglass  found  that 

the  average  curriculum  for  the  first  year  of  the  junior  high  school 
is:  English  (6  periods  per  week),  with  reading,  writing,  grammar, 
spelling  and  penmanship  taught  separately  or  in  rather  poor  co- 
ordination under  the  general  heading;  social  science  (5),  presented 


186  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

as  history  and  geography;  mathematics  (5),  meaning  arithmetic; 
physiology  and  hygiene  (3)  or  physical  training  (2);  drawing  (2) 
and  perhaps  music  (2);  manual  training  (2)  or  domestic  science  (2). 
For  the  second  junior-high-school  year  the  average  curriculum  is: 
English  (5)  —  much  the  same  as  that  in  the  first  year;  history  (5) 
or  civics  (5) ;  arithmetic  (5) ;  physiology  and  hygiene  (3)  or  physical 
training  (2);  music  (2)  or  drawing  (2);  and  an  option  between 
Latin  or  German  (5)  and  manual  or  domestic  science  (2). 

Real  differentiation  is  under  way  in  the  ninth  grade.  Here  the 
only  required  subject  is  English,  and  options  are  allowed  —  under 
supervision  —  to  the  extent  that  the  pupil  practically  selects  his 
own  work.  He  may  choose  among  Latin  and  German,  history, 
algebra,  general  science,  music  and  drawing,  manual  or  industrial 
arts  and  domestic  science,  and  certain  commercial  subjects. 

As  a  result  of  studying  the  programs  of  seventy-five 
schools,  Douglass  attempted  the  difficult  task  of  classifica- 
tion. The  results,  which  he  declares  to  be  "unsatisfactory 
on  account  of  overlapping,"  are  quoted: 

1.  One  type  is  made  up  of  the  common  branches  with  no  elec- 
tions until  the  ninth  year,  when  a  choice  may  be  made  among  lan- 
guages, industrial  arts,  and  perhaps  science.    This  type  often  con- 
tains no  manual-  or  domestic-arts  courses. 

2.  A  second  curriculum  is  essentially  the  same  as  the  first,  save 
that  manual  training  and  domestic  science  are  found  throughout. 
Language  may  usually  be  begun  in  the  eighth  grade.     Here  also 
are  feeble  beginnings  at  a  systematization  of  subject-matter. 

3.  A  third  type  consists  mainly  of  the  common  branches,  with 
languages,  manual  training  or  industrial  arts  and  domestic  arts, 
science,  and  commerce,  but  the  subject-matter  is  being  subjected 
to  an  overhauling,  condensation  and  elimination  of  non-essentials, 
and  is  being  correlated  with  the  elementary  school  from  below  and 
with  the  senior  high  school  from  above.    In  varying  degrees,  also, 
subject-matter  is  being  given  its  social  and  economic  setting.     A 
few  elections  are  given  the  first  year;  more  opportunity  for  choice 
is  given  the  second,  while  in  the  third  year  English  is  about  the 
only  required  subject.     Under  the  general  heading  several  sub- 
types are  found: 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY          187 

(a)  A  general  curriculum,  in  which  the  pupil  elects  such  sub- 
jects as  are  not  required  of  all.     Sometimes  statements  are  made 
to  the  effect  that  the  pupil,  the  pupil's  parents,  and  the  principal  or 
teachers  cooperate  in  determining  elections;  frequently  no  such 
statement  is  made.     Here  elections  seem  to  carry  no  further  than 
the  semester  or  year.     This  is  a  very  common  type. 

It  would  seem  that  this  plan  offers  a  wide  range  for  individual 
development  through  its  adaptability  to  individual  differences, 
and  certainly  an  ample  chance  for  adjustment  in  case  of  a  wrong 
choice.  On  the  other  hand,  it  might  be  objected  that  it  does  not 
make  adequate  provision  for  continuity  of  effort. 

(b)  Another  type  combines  the  general-curriculum  with  the  sepa- 
rate-curriculum plan.     Except  for  more  or  less  elective  privileges 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades,  work  is  the  same  for  all;  with  the 
ninth  grade,  distinct  curricula  are  provided,  and  these  are  carried 
into  the  senior  high  school.     This  seems  to  be  a  rudiment  of  the 
eight-four  plan  where  differentiated  work  was  provided  beginning 
with  the  high  school.    It  assumes  that  the  ninth-grader  has  reached 
a  place  where  he  can  choose  more  specialized  work,  and  it  aids  him 
in  his  decision  through  elections  during  the  two  preceding  years. 

(c)  A  common  type  is  divided  into  two  or  more  curricula,  such 
as  the  "regular  academic,"  the  "industrial,"  and  the  "commer- 
cial."   Here  subjects  like  English,  arithmetic  and  history,  are  the 
same  for  all  pupils,  and  the  curriculum  is  often  named  from  one  or 
two  subjects  that  differ  from  the  common  stock.    The  main  differ- 
ence between  this  and  Type  (a)  seems  to  be  that  the  pupil  decides 
at  the  beginning  what  work  he  is  to  pursue  for  three  years. 

Without  doubt  this  plan  tends  to  reduce  to  a  minimum  the  dis- 
advantages of  the  elective  system.  It  must  assume,  however,  that 
no  mistake  has  been  made  in  selecting  the  courses  to  form  a  definite 
curriculum  and  that  the  pupil  has  chosen  correctly.  Sometimes 
provision  is  made  for  transfer,  if  it  is  shown  that  the  pupil  is  clearly 
unfitted  for  the  work  he  has  chosen,  but  more  often  the  pupil  is 
given  to  understand  that  after  the  first  year  it  will  be  difficult  for 
him  to  change.  Rarely  are  electives  provided  within  the  curricu- 
lum. Lack  of  flexibility  at  the  tune  when  ability  should  be  tested 
in  a  number  of  fields  seems  to  be  the  greatest  fault  of  this  type. 

(d)  Another  type  is  divided  into  two-year  "cycles."     To  some 
extent  options  are  given  at  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  year,  but 


188  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

the  selection  at  this  stage  carries  with  it  certain  subjects  or  courses 
and  perhaps  another  cycle  as  well.  At  the  beginning  of  the  ninth 
grade  a  second  and  even  more  important  selection  is  demanded. 

This  method  aims  at  giving  the  benefit  of  the  elective  system 
and  at  the  same  time  to  insure  that  continuity  of  effort  which  may 
be  lacking  in  a  curriculum  consisting  largely  of  free  electives. 
Since  a  cycle  contains  a  group  of  subjects,  there  should  also  be  a 
closer  coordination  of  work.  The  work  is,  however,  relatively 
unchangeable  for  two  years. 

4.  Another  type  provides  several  different  curricula,  in  which 
subjects  and  courses  are  widely  differentiated.     Thus,  English  or 
arithmetic,  varying  but  little  from  the  traditional  course,  is  pro- 
vided for  pupils  who  expect  to  complete  the  high  school  and  to 
enter  college;  commercial  or  industrial  English  or  arithmetic  for 
pupils  whose  aptitudes  seem  to  be  for  this  kind  of  work  or  whose 
vocational  destinations  will  probably  be  the  commercial  or  indus- 
trial world.    This  scheme  involves  also  segregation  as  to  sex.    The 
sexes  may  be  handled  together  in  certain  "cultural"  subjects, 
while  in  the  industrial  subjects  they  receive  separate  instruction. 
In  accordance  with  this  view,  there  is  no  call  for  segregation  in  the 
"academic"  curriculum  and  but  little  reason  for  segregation  hi  the 
"commercial"  curriculum,  excepting  when  these  pupils  take  man- 
ual training,  domestic  science,  physiology  and  physical  training. 
However,  the  sexes  are  kept  separate  to  the  degree  that  science, 
history,  mathematics  and  the  like  will  differ  when  founded  upon 
home-making  on  the  one  hand  and  upon  industrial  arts  on  the 
other.     Others  believe  that  segregation  possesses  value  in  itself. 

This  plan  has  been  objected  to  on  the  ground  that  it  provides  a 
narrow  training.  A  curriculum  based  entirely  upon  commercial 
or  industrial  branches,  it  is  said,  can  hardly  have  the  breadth  of  one 
including  these  subjects  as  electives.  Moreover,  pupils  in  these 
different  lines  of  work  are  liable  not  to  acquire  a  sufficient  amount 
of  the  knowledge  that  ought  to  be  common  to  all.  The  plan  is 
defended  on  the  ground  that  it  provides  the  best  possible  means 
for  individual  differences  and  that  knowledge  really  essential  may 
be  presented  just  as  easily  in  a  commercial  or  industrial  setting. 

5.  Whatever  may  be  the  general  plan  adopted,  a  number  of 
superintendents  are  providing  two-  or  three-year  curricula  for 
pupils  who  expect  to  leave  school  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  or  ninth 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         189 

school-year,  and  who,  as  a  consequence,  desire  training  productive 
of  immediate  financial  returns.  This  training  is  for  the  most  part 
along  commercial,  industrial  and  home-making  lines,  and  these 
lines  are  closely  articulated  with  commerce,  the  industries  and  the 
home.  It  is  realized  that  difficulty  will  arise  in  the  planning  of 
other  work  should  a  pupil  desire  to  remain  in  school  at  the  end  of 
this  time,  and  some  are  taking  steps  to  remedy  this  trouble. 

6.  Gary  has  often  been  said  to  possess  a  junior  high  school,  not 
because  of  outward  features  of  organization,  but  because  of  the 
educational  principles  upon  which  the  system  is  founded.  .  .  . 

7.  In  the  course  of  the  junior-high-school  reorganization  into 
prevocational  departments,  fragments  have  split  off  —  the  indus- 
trial arts  department  withdrawing  to  form  a  separate  elementary 
industrial  or  prevocational  school.     But,  though  narrowed  to  the 
industries,  these  schools  still  possess  striking  vocational  guidance 
functions.     In  some  localities  schools  are  provided  for  "motor- 
minded"  students;  in  others,  all  students  are  given  this  work. 

In  the  North  Central  Territory  Davis  1  found  that  52.2 
per  cent  of  the  junior  high  schools  give  the  pupils  a  choice 

TABLE  XXIV 

PER  CENT  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  IN  THE  NORTH  CENTRAL, 
TERRITORY  OFFERING  SEVERAL  SUBJECTS  AS  ELECTIVES 

Latin  27.6 

Modern  foreign  language 27 . 3 

Algebra 24 . 2 

General  science 30 . 4 

Manual  training 88 . 7 

Domestic  science  and  arts 88 . 4 

Drawing 75 . 4 

Music 71.7 

Agriculture 25 . 9 

Ancient  history 3.8 

General  history  of  modern  Europe 6.5 

Commercial  work 16.7 

Distinctive  vocational  work 5.1 

Fruiting 8.2 


1  School  Renew,  vol.  26,  pp.  326-28, 


190 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


of  curricula  or  subjects.     The  percentage  offering  each  of 
several  elective  subjects  is  shown  in  Table  XXIV. 

Davis  reports  also  that  of  the  293  junior  high  schools  of 
the  North  Central  Territory  34.8  per  cent  have  definitely 
outlined  curricula,  25.3  per  cent  allow  election  by  curricula, 

TABLE  XXV 

SHOWING  THE  KINDS  OF  INDUSTRIAL  WORK  OFFERED  FOR  BOYS  BY 
173  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  AND  THE  NUMBER  OF  SCHOOLS 
OFFERING  EACH  KIND 

None. .  .   20 


Agricultural: 

Agriculture 19 

Gardening 7 

Pomology 1 

Dairying 1 

Drainage 1 

Farm  shop-work 2 

Hot-bed  construction 1 

Buying,  selling,  and  marketing.  1 

Industrial: 

Woodwork 77 

Carpentry 48 

Manual  training 23 

Pattern-making 11 

Repair  work 5 

Turning 2 

Millwork 2 

Furniture 1 

Boat-building 1 

Building  trades 1 

Painting 13 

Cement  work 11 

Applied  drawing 33 

Drafting 1 

Sketching 1 

Bricklaying ...,.,...,  1J 


Industrial: 

Forging 5 

Blacksmithing 2 

Machine  shop 15 

Metal  work 26 

Tinning 1 

Foundry 1 

Molding 1 

Automobile  repair ...  4 

Gas  engine 1 

Electrical  work 15 

Plumbing 3 

Engineering 1 

Applied  mathematics  1 

Tailoring 1 

Rug-making 1 

Basketry 1 

Reedwork 1 

Bookbinding 3 

Shoe  repairing 2 

Barbering 1 

Butchering 1 

Cooking 11 

Printing 37 

Bill-posting 1 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         191 

and  48.5  per  cent  allow  election  of  subjects.  These  latter 
proportions,  it  will  be  noted,  are  somewhat  smaller  than  fof 
the  schools  Douglass  used  as  representative. 

Of  the  182  junior  high  schools  answering  the  question  for 
this  study  67,  or  37  per  cent,  report  that  they  have  fully 
differentiated  curricula,  though  the  term  is  not  defined;  and 
14,  or  an  additional  7.5  per  cent,  report  that  they  have 
partly  differentiated  curricula.  Of  the  182  schools,  116, 
or  63.7  per  cent,  offer  an  academic  curriculum;  94,  or  51.6 
per  cent,  a  commercial;  94,  or  51.6  per  cent,  a  practical  arts; 
and  23,  or  12.6  per  cent,  a  special  trade. 

The  kinds  of  industrial  work  offered  for  boys  and  the 
number  of  schools,  of  173  reporting,  that  offer  each  kind, 
are  shown  in  Table  XXV.  The  variety,  which  is  astound- 
ing, shows  either  a  vagueness  as  to  educational  values  or  else 
a  serious  attempt  to  meet  local  needs,  —  probably  both. 

Of  198  schools  reporting  on  this  topic,  134,  or  67.7  per 
cent,  say  that  they  have  modified  none  of  their  subjects 
in  content,  method  of  treatment,  and  difficulty  of  mastery 
with  reference  to  the  "curriculum  setting"  in  which  they 
appear.  This  is  a  disappointing  report,  unless,  as  is  entirely 
possible,  the  question  was  because  of  its  terminology  not 
understood.  Of  the  remaining  64  schools  13  answer  merely 
"  Yes."  The  53  that  answered  the  question  as  stated  report 
that  they  have  modified  the  subjects  as  following  with 
regard  to  their  curriculum  setting: 

No.  Per  cent 

English 27  50.9 

Spelling 1  1.9 

Penmanship 1  1.9 

Typing , I  1.9 


192  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

No.  Per  cent 

Foreign  languages 2  3.8 

History 16  30.2 

Geography 6  11.3 

Drawing 4  7.6 

Mathematics 45  84 . 9 

General  science 6  9.4 

Shop-work 1  1.9 

Practical  arts..                                    ..i     2  3.8 


An  effort  was  made  to  ascertain  the  school  subjects  in 
which  the  course  of  study  has  been  materially  changed  from 
that  used  in  the  grammar  grades  or  in  the  first  year  of  the 
high  school.  Of  191  schools  answering,  27,  or  14.1  per  cent, 
admit  that  they  have  made  no  changes  whatever.  Judged 
by  the  interviews  with  a  few  of  the  principals  who  have 
made  no  changes  in  the  courses  of  study,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  almost  without  exception  they  are  in  varying  degrees 
dissatisfied  with  some  of  the  work  now  offered  but  that  they 
lack  vision,  a  definiteness  of  purpose,  and  the  energy  to 
initiate  changes.  The  usual  excuse  is  that  "we  haven't 
got  around  to  that  yet."  Inasmuch  as  the  courses  of  study 
for  so  large  a  proportion  of  our  conventional  schools  are 
determined  by  textbooks,  it  is  probably  useless  to  expect 
material  changes  in  any  considerable  number  of  intermediate 
schools  until  textbooks  and  syllabi  indicate  in  detail  what 
may  and  should  be  done. 

The  extent  to  which  the  191  schools  reporting  profess  to 
have  made  material  changes  in  their  courses  of  study  may 
be  seen  in  Table  XXVI.  Mathematics  of  several  kinds  is 
said  to  be  materially  changed  in  51.8  per  cent  of  these 
schools;  the  several  sciences,  in  47.1  per  cent;  English,  in 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         193 

45.5  per  cent;  some  one  of  the  foreign  languages,  in  41.9  per 
cent;  and  history  and  civics,  in  36.1  per  cent. 

TABLE  XXVI 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  191  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  PROFESSING 
TO  HAVE  MADE  MATERIAL  CHANGES  IN  THE  COURSES  OF  STUDY 
FOR  THE  SEVERAL  SUBJECTS 

Number  of 
Subject  schools  Per  cent 

English 87  47.1 

Spelling. 6  3.1 

Penmanship 3  .2 

Commercial  subjects 10  5.2 

Languages 21  11.0 

Latin 25  13. 1 

French 11  5.7 

German 18  9.4 

Spanish 5  2.9 

History 51  26.2 

Civics 18  9.4 

Music 8  4.2 

Fine  arts 8  4.2 

Applied  art 5  2.9 

Mathematics 31  16 . 2 

Arithmetic 56  29.3 

Algebra 12  6.3 

"Science" 43  22.5 

Agriculture 6  3.1 

Civic  biology 1  .5 

Geography 31  16.2 

Hygiene 7  3.6 

Physiology 2  1.0 

Industrial  subjects 9  4.7 

Manual  training 19  9.9 

Home  economics 14  7.3 

Physical  training 4  2.1 

All  subjects 3  1.5 

Many  subjects 1  .5 

None..                                                     .27  14.1 


194 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


It  should  be  noted  that  we  are  not  warranted  in  conclud- 
ing that  166  (191  —  25)  schools  have  made  no  change  in  the 
Latin  work,  that  186  have  made  no  change  in  the  Spanish, 
etc.,  for  certainly  all  of  the  191  schools  reporting  did  not 
offer  Latin,  Spanish,  or  most  of  the  other  subjects  that  are 
commonly  taught  only  in  the  high  schools.  Of  the  schools 
reporting,  86  per  cent  had  already  by  1917  made  what  they 
consider  material  change  in  some  phase  or  phases  of  their 
work.  This  argues  well  for  the  future. 

It  has  already  been  stated  (page  172)  that  fewer  than 
five  per  cent  of  241  principals  responding  oppose  the  explo- 
ration of  pupils'  interests,  aptitudes,  and  abilities  by  means 
of  general  courses.  The  extent  to  which  such  courses  were 
in  1917  offered  in  the  several  years  of  junior  high  schools 
may  be  seen  in  Table  XXVII. 


Year 

General 
science 

Composite 
mathematics 

General 
history 

General 
social 
science 

Reading 
and 
literature 

None 

11 

28 

27 

31 

12 

VII 

36 

29 

29 

9 

58 

VIII 

101 

101 

28 

27 

89 

IX 

111 

78 

56 

21 

90 

Totals 

Reporting 

259 

236 

140 

88 

249 

CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY         195 

Two  hundred  and  fifty-nine  schools  report  on  the  general 
introductory  science;  the  fact  that  the  number  reporting  on 
the  other  subjects  falls  as  low  as  88  may  be  interpreted  as 
indicating  that  for  the  most  part  the  schools  not  offering 
such  subjects  do  not  trouble  to  fill  in  answers.  Assuming 
that  this  is  true,  we  should  find  that  of  259  junior  high 
schools  the  percentages  offering  general  science  is  95.4; 
general  mathematics,  combining  arithmetic,  algebra,  and 
the  simple  elements  of  geometry  or  trigonometry,  or  both, 
80.0;  general  history,  43.5;  general  social  science,  21.9;  a 
course  of  extensive  reading  and  study  of  literature,  91.2. 
The  actual  numbers  of  schools  and  the  percentages  on  the 
basis  of  all  reporting  on  any  of  these  subjects  are  highly  grati- 
fying to  those  who  believe  that  progress  for  the  intermediate 
school  should  be  in  this  direction. 

After  studying  the  data  given  in  this  report  and  those 
by  Douglass  and  Davis,  one  cannot  but  be  convinced  of  a 
general  and  widespread  dissatisfaction  with  curricula  and 
courses  of  study  for  the  intermediate  grades;  of  a  lack  of 
definiteness  in  programs  for  reform;  of  approval  by  the 
country  at  large  of  earlier  differentiation  after  exploratory 
courses;  and  of  an  astounding  amount  of  variation  in  prac- 
tice. This  "  groping,  testing,  passing  on  "  is  probably  neces- 
sary for  progress.  In  the  meantime  we  may  be  very  sure 
that  many  schools  will  profess  to  have  reorganized  when 
they  have  made  only  "paper  changes"  in  both  organization 
and  courses.  We  shall  profit  most  by  considering  the  real 
changes  that  have  been  made  and  their  results. 

The  extent  to  which  curricula  and  courses  are  elected. 
The  extent  to  which  the  several  curricula  and  courses  are 


196 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


elected  in  representative  schools  will  now  be  shown.  In 
Rochester  the  three  curricula  were  in  1916  elected  by  the 
following  percentages  of  the  junior  and  senior  high  school 

pupils. 

TABLE  XXVIII 

SHOWING  CURRICULUM  ELECTIONS  IN  ROCHESTER,  NEW  YORK,  1916 

Junior  Senior 

High  School  Curriculum  High  School 

33 General  or  college  preparatory. ...  66 

33 Commercial 27 

34 Trade 7 

In  Los  Angeles  there  was  in  1916  a  wide  divergence  in  the 
different  schools  in  the  percentages  of  pupils  electing  the 
different  courses.  This,  of  course,  is  as  it  should  be,  for  the 
schools  draw  from  very  different  types  of  homes;  Berendo, 
for  instance,  is  a  suburban  school  drawing  from  well-to-do 

TABLE  XXIX 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGES  OP  6311  PUPILS  ELECTING  VARIOUS 
CURRICULA  IN  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  Los  ANGELES, 
1916 


School 

Literary- 
scientific 

General 
elective 

Com- 
mercial 

Mechan- 
ic arts 

Home 
economics 

English 
prepara- 
tory 

Berendo  

61 

19 

12 

2 

2 

3 

Boyle  Heights  .... 
Custer  Avenue  
Fourteenth  Street  . 
McKinley  Avenue. 
Sentous  

40 
48 
39 
48 
59 

21 
14 
12 
2 
10 

17 
31 
11 
23 
16 

2 
.1 
8 
7 
3 

12 
.1 
20 
14 

7 

5 
4 

10 

7 
3 

VirgU       

82 

3 

5 

1 

1 

4 

Thirtieth  Street... 

55 

12 

14 

2 

8 

8 

Total     

51 

12 

16 

7 

9 

6 

CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY        197 

and  educated  families,  while  14th  Street  enrolls  almost  en- 
tirely the  children  of  the  lowly.  The  six  curricula  were 
elected  in  eight  intermediate  schools  by  the  percentages  of 
6311  pupils  indicated  in  Table  XXIX. 

In  Oakland,  California,  the  same  optional  subjects  are 
not  offered  in  all  the  schools.  Where  offered  the  subjects 
were  elected  in  1917  by  the  percentages  of  pupils  indicated 
in  Table  XXX. 

TABLE  XXX 

SHOWING  THE   PERCENTAGES   OF   JUNIOR -HIGH-SCHOOL  PUPILS 
ELECTING  VARIOUS  SUBJECTS  IN  OAKLAND,  1917 

Subjects          Percentages  Subjects  Percentages 

Latin 21    Extra  freehand  drawing 13 

German 23    Mechanical  drawing 3 

French 32    Extra  manual  training 18 

Spanish 28    Extra  sewing 9 

Science 75    Extra  cooking 18 

Instrumental  music.  16  Vocational  work  (vocational  school).  52 

Extra  vocal  music. .  32    Typewriting 22 

In  two  Minneapolis  junior  high  schools  the  elective  sub- 
jects were  chosen  by  the  approximate  percentages  of  816 

TABLE  XXXI 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGES  OF  816  PUPILS  ELECTING  VARIOUS 
SUBJECTS  IN  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  MINNEAPOLIS 

Subjects  Percentages 

Extra  English 4 

A  modern  foreign  language 20 

Shop-work 57 

Agriculture 17 

Home  economics 43 

Commercial  subjects 19 

Printing 6 


198 

pupils  indicated  in  Table  XXXI,  allowance  being  made  for 
enrollment  by  sex. 

In  three  Richmond,  Virginia,  junior  high  schools  subjects 
were  chosen  by  the  percentages  of  1732  pupils  indicated  in 
Table  XXXII. 

TABLE  XXXII 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGES  OP  1732  PUPILS  CHOOSING  VARIOUS 
SUBJECTS  IN  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  RICHMOND,  VIR- 
GINIA 

Subjects                  Percentages  Subjects                Percentages 

Business  English 27    Algebra 5 

Latin 18    Elementary  science 6 

French 7    Typewriting 16 

German 7    Bookkeeping 9 

Spanish 4 

To  what  extent  pressure  is  exerted  on  pupils  to  elect 
certain  curricula  it  is,  of  course,  impossible  to  ascertain  with 
any  degree  of  accuracy;  but  it  must  be  considerable.  In 
some  schools  only  the  more  able  pupils  are  permitted  to 
elect  a  foreign  language,  and  observation  leads  to  the  con- 
clusion that  the  general  attitude  of  the  principal  or  super- 
intendent is  very  potent,  even  where  teacher  advisers  are 
at  work,  to  determine  a  pupil's  curriculum.  An  attitude 
changed  by  experience  is  revealed  in  two  reports  from  Butte, 
Montana.  In  1914  the  principal  of  the  junior  high  school 
wrote: 

If  there  is  the  slightest  doubt  in  the  pupil's  mind  regarding  the 
possibility  of  his  finishing  high  school,  he  should  elect  the  voca- 
tional course. 

Two  years  later  the  same  principal  reported: 


CURRICULA  AND  COURSES  OF  STUDY        199 

Experience  with  this  double  course  revealed  to  us  that  a  large 
number  of  pupils  who  intended  to  go  on  to  higher  institutions 
chose  the  vocational  course,  thereby  breaking  down  the  real  func- 
tion of  this  dual  differentiation.  We  furthermore  observed  that 
many  students  whom  we  were  assured  would  not  go  on  to  high 
school  chose  the  general  course  because,  as  we  believed,  they  felt 
a  social  stigma  attached  to  the  vocational  course.  With  the 
present  (single)  course  this  differentiation  has  disappeared  and  all 
students  mingle  upon  a  similar  educational  basis. 

But  with  the  single  course  this  school  offered  a  number  of 
electives,  thus  providing  for  differentiation. 


CHAPTER  VII 

METHODS  OF  TEACHING 

ONE  purpose  in  the  establishment  of  junior  high  schools  has 
been  the  improvement  of  instruction  for  pupils  of  early 
adolescence.  While  it  is  recognized  that  methods  in  the 
lower  elementary  grades  are  probably  more  sound  than  any- 
where else  in  the  public-school  system  and  that  there  has 
also  been  a  betterment  of  teaching  in  the  high  school  as 
well,  most  schoolmen  agree  that  there  is  need  for  a  peculiar 
adaptation  to  pupils  of  the  intermediate  period.  In  the 
grammar  grades  methods  that  have  proved  effective  with 
younger  pupils  are  at  present  too  long  continued,  and  in  the 
ninth  grade  are  frequently  assigned  the  younger  and  less 
experienced  teachers  who  have  neither  intimate  knowledge 
of  boys  and  girls  nor  skill  in  instruction. 

It  is  of  vital  importance  [says  the  report  of  the  High-School 
Masters'  Club  of  Massachusetts  l]  that  the  methods  of  the  high 
school  shall  not  be  thrust  upon  the  junior  high  school.  It  is 
equally  important  that  the  methods  of  the  lower  grades  shall  not 
be  continued.  A  wise  compromise  between  the  two  methods  of 
teaching  must  be  sought.  The  developing  individuality  and  men- 
tal traits  of  the  pupil  in  early  adolescence  must  be  recognized  by 
methods  of  presenting  the  subjects  of  study,  and  more  may  safely 
be  left  to  the  initiative  of  the  pupil  than  in  the  lower  grades;  but 
at  the  same  time  the  beginner  in  the  junior  high  school  must  not 
be  abruptly  thrown  on  his  own  responsibility  as  he  generally  has 
been  in  the  past  on  entrance  to  the  high  school. 

1  Page  37. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  201 

Superintendent  H.  B.  Wilson  states  that  "the  teaching 
methods  should  approximate  those  by  good  high-school 
teachers  who  remember  that  they  are  teaching  children 
rather  than  subjects."  Of  61  selected  judges  72.1  per  cent 
consider  x  essential  for  the  junior  high  school  methods  be- 
tween those  of  the  elementary  and  of  the  high  schools,  and 
85.3  per  cent  consider  such  methods  desirable;  90.1  per  cent 
consider  it  desirable  that  the  junior  high  school  use  methods 
that  encourage  initiation  on  the  part  of  pupils. 

Snedden  advocates2  a  change  from  the  traditional  methods  of 
drill  and  memory  and  formal  analysis,  by  which  external  bits  of 
memory  are  acquired,  to  natural  methods  based  on  the  nature 
of  the  learning  process.  He  would  have  methods  grow  out  of  edu- 
cational experimentation  in  all  the  varied  school  activities.  He 
advocates  that  methods  be  in  keeping  with  the  new  and  variable 
types  of  subject-matter  to  be  introduced  into  the  junior  high 
school,  methods  capable  of  adaptation  to  individual  differences, 
methods  that  shall  reveal  to  the  pupil  his  capacities  and  develop 
power  in  expression,  departmental  teaching  or  the  Gary  plan  of 
allied  groups,  short  unit  courses  in  the  practical  arts  with  the 
project  method.  He  states  that  the  work  of  these  years  has  too 
much  of  repetition  and  memory  drills  and  that  it  lacks  vitality.3 

Davis  makes  much  of  the  necessity  of  adapting  methods 
to  the  early  adolescent.  He  says: 4 

At  this  period  self -consciousness  is  born.  The  interests  that 
formerly  held  dominant  sway  are  cast  aside.  New  motives  stir, 
new  aspirations  fire,  new  goals  beckon.  Conscious  logical  reason 
begins  to  proclaim  itself.  The  mind  is  no  longer  satisfied  with 
mere  empirical  facts,  but  it  demands  that  the  facts  be  presented 
in  their  essential  relations.  ...  To  employ  with  him  the  methods 

1  Briggs:  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  5,  p.  283. 
8  Problems  of  Educational  Readjustment. 

3  Quoted  from  Childs:  Reorganization  Movement  in  the  Grammar  Grades 
of  Indiana  Schools,  p.  51. 

4  Johnston :  High-School  Education,  pp.  69-70. 


202  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

of  instruction  and  training  of  the  elementary  schools  is  to  provoke 
him  to  truancy,  encourage  him  to  evade  school  work,  and  impel 
him  to  forsake  school  duties  altogether. 

The  foregoing  quotations  illustrate  the  general  sentiment 
that  there  is  need  for  the  adaptation  of  teaching  to  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  pupils  of  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of 
age.  But  it  would  be  futile  to  hope  or  expect  any  mere 
administrative  reorganization  to  effect  a  radical  change  in 
methods  of  instruction.  Observation  of  the  teaching  itself 
in  many  classes  leaves  a  sense  of  disappointment.  Although 
one  may  safely  state  that  by  and  large  it  is  better  than  the 
pupils  would  ordinarily  have  received,  the  impression  is 
deep  that  reorganization  offers  an  opportunity  rather  than 
assures  an  ideal.  Results  are  conditioned  by  the  clearness 
of  ideal,  on  the  part  of  both  administrators  and  teachers; 
the  source,  training,  previous  experience,  and  supervision  of 
the  teachers;  the  grouping  of  the  pupils;  the  adoption  and 
administration  of  supervised  study,  the  project  method,  and 
the  socialized  recitation;  the  content  of  the  courses  of 
study  and  the  textbooks  used.  The  fact  that  the  junior 
high  school  has  no  traditions  and  few  restrictions  from 
above  makes  the  introduction  of  reforms  comparatively 
easy;  consequently  it  is  in  this  field  of  secondary  education 
that  progress  may  most  easily  be  made. 

It  will  be  shown  that  junior-high-school  teachers  are 
drawn  from  a  variety  of  sources,  but  that  there  is  a  dis- 
tinct tendency  to  promote  for  the  new  work  those  experi- 
enced in  the  grammar  grades,  providing  they  possess  or 
acquire  the  needed  subject-matter.  Although  teachers  are 
likely  to  continue  much  of  the  method  that  they  have  previ- 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  203 

ously  used,  they  also  are  strongly  influenced  by  the  pupils 
in  a  class  and  to  considerable  extent  by  other  pupils  under 
their  instruction  at  other  times  of  the  day.  This  is  an  argu- 
ment, therefore,  for  the  homogeneous  grouping  of  pupils 
and  for  their  segregation  in  an  organization  separate  from 
that  for  those  considerably  younger  or  older.  In  no  place 
is  supervision  of  instruction  so  likely  to  make  quick  and 
profitable  returns  as  in  a  newly  organized  junior  high  school, 
where  the  teachers  are  seeking  guidance  as  to  their  objec- 
tives and  methods. 

Of  254  junior  high  schools  answering  on  this  topic,  107, 
or  42.1  per  cent,  say  that  their  methods  of  teaching  have 
been  influenced  most  by  those  used  in  the  elementary  school; 
118,  or  46.5  per  cent,  say  by  those  used  in  the  high  school; 
26,  or  10.2  per  cent,  say  "by  both";  and  3,  or  1.2  per  cent, 
say  "by  neither." 

Two  hundred  and  eight  junior  high  schools  reply  to  the 
question,  "  Have  you  really  succeeded  in  combining  the  best 
features  of  both  the  elementary  and  the  high-school  meth- 
ods?" Of  these  172,  or  82.7  per  cent,  say  that  they  have; 
30,  or  14.4  per  cent,  say  that  they  have  not;  and  the  remain- 
ing 6  "don't  know."  Most  of  those  who  admit  that  they 
have  not  so  far  succeeded  in  this,  volunteer  that  it  is  their 
aim  and  that  they  will  attain  it  in  time.  Forty-two  schools 
say  that  there  has  been  little  change  in  methods,  and  35 
assert  that  there  has  been  much. 

A.  SUPERVISED  STUDY 

The  adoption  of  supervised  study,  the  project  method,  or 
the  socialized  recitation  inevitably  results  in  some  modifica- 


204  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

tion  of  teaching  methods,  the  amount  of  change  depending 
chiefly  on  the  preparation  made  and  the  supervision  afforded. 
Supervised  study,  or  directed  learning,  attractive  in  its  pro- 
gram and  generally  approved  in  theory,  has  by  common 
testimony  disappointed  those  who  expected  it  to  bring  great 
improvement  in  results,  primarily  because  it  involves  the 
most  fundamental  principles  of  education.  The  lengthened 
and  divided  period  automatically  improves  conditions  in 
that  it  insures  for  all  pupils  a  place  and  a  time  for  study  and 
in  that  it  affords  to  the  teacher  an  opportunity  to  see  that 
his  assignment  is  understood  and  is  of  reasonable  length; 
but  beyond  these  details  lie  the  real  value  and  the  real  diffi- 
culty of  the  plan.  To  administer  it  successfully  teachers 
must  know  what  study  is,  and  they  must  be  skilled  in  the 
technique  of  learning. *  Such  knowledge  and  skill  are  neither 
easily  acquired  nor  easily  transmitted  to  pupils.  Again 
painstaking  supervision  is  necessary  if  the  maximum  of  good 
is  to  be  secured. 

Supervised  study  is  very  generally  approved  for  the 
junior  high  school.  The  Commission  of  the  North  Central 
Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools  recommended 
in  1918 

that  a  junior  high  school  shall  at  least  make  coordinate  its  empha- 
sis upon  the  direction  of  study  and  the  traditional  activity  of 
reciting.  It  recognizes  that  different  subjects  in  the  junior-high- 
school  curriculum  may  require  different  distributions  of  time  be- 
tween recitation  and  study.  It  recommends  further  that  every 
junior  high  school  provide  definite  and  suitable  places  for  study 
under  expert  supervision. 

1  See  Dewey's  How  We  Think,  and  Interest  and  Effort  in  Education; 
Colvin's  The  Learning  Process  and  An  Introduction  to  High  School  Teach- 
ing; and  Whipple's  How  to  Study  Effectively* 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  205 

On  the  basis  of  his  study  of  the  causes  of  failure  of  high- 
school  pupils  Bowden  concludes  l  that  supervised  study  is 
of  especial  importance  at  the  beginning  of  the  junior-high- 
school  period. 

The  plans  for  directing  study  vary  somewhat,  but  chiefly 
they  provide  that  the  period  be  divided,  one  half  for  study 
and  one  half  for  recitation.  At  the  Ben  Blewett  Junior 
High  School  study  occupies  from  one  third  to  two  thirds  of 
the  period.  "Actual  supervised  study  for  an  individual 
consists  in  helping  him  to  read  with  a  purpose,  to  get  the 
content  of  the  written  page,  and  to  make  use  of  data  selected 
for  a  definite  end." 2  Several  schools  report  that  some  teach- 
ers so  inadequately  understood  the  plan  of  supervised  study 
or  had  so  failed  to  master  old  habits  that  the  principal  had 
to  revoke  the  privilege  of  permitting  them  to  use  any  desired 
part  of  the  period  for  "teaching";  in  three  schools  pupils 
actually  petitioned  that  a  bell  be  rung  at  the  half -period  to 
compel  the  teachers  to  stop  talking  so  that  study  might 
begin.  At  the  Washington  Junior  High  School  of  Rochester 
the  periods  are  eighty  minutes  in  length,  and  "to  the  indi- 
vidual teachers  are  left  the  details  of  management  within 
the  general  provision  of  three  branches  —  review,  assign- 
ment, and  silent  study." 3  At  Vallejo,  California,  every 
deficient  pupil  must  go  to  his  teacher  at  a  designated  period, 
and  once  in  two  weeks  each  class  is  given  at  the  beginning 
of  the  school  day  a  period  in  which  the  teacher  instructs 
the  pupils  how  to  study  for  the  next  two  weeks. 

Of  267  junior  high  schools  reporting  on  this  topic,  51,  or 

1  School  and  Society,  vol.  6,  p.  448. 

»  School  Review,  vol.  28,  p.  106.  »  Ibid.,  p.  197, 


206  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

19.1  per  cent,  say  that  they  do  not  have  a  part  of  each  period 
set  aside  for  supervised  study;  175,  or  65.5  per  cent,  say  that 
they  have;  and  the  remaining  41,  or  15.4  per  cent,  have 
supervised  study  in  some  subjects,  with  some  teachers,  in 
stated  years,   or  irregularly.      These  returns  correspond 
closely  with  the  59.04  per  cent  of  the  junior  high  schools  of 
the  North  Central  territory  that  Davis  reports  as  having 
supervised  study. 

Two  hundred  and  four  schools  reported  as  to  the  results: 
68,  or  one  third,  say  that  they  are  excellent;  109,  or  53.4 
per  cent,  that  they  are  good;  26,  or  12.8  per  cent,  that  they 
are  fair;  and  one  that  "we  have  not  used  it  long  enough  to 
tell." 

B.  HOME  STUDY 

Methods  of  teaching  are  influenced  to  some  extent  by  the 
amount  of  home  study  required.  Two  hundred  and  sixty- 
one  schools  gave  data  concerning  the  amount  normally 
expected,  but  56  returned  answers  that  were  indefinite  or 
qualified,  as  may  be  seen  in  Table  XXXIII.  The  median 
amount  of  home  study  normally  expected  by  the  205  schools 
replying  definitely  is  60  minutes.  Of  the  schools  reporting, 

70.2  per  cent  expect  from  40  to  90  minutes.    The  modes,  it 
will  be  noticed,  are  0,  45,  60,  90,  and  120  minutes. 

Davis  1  found  in  the  North  Central  territory  that  of  277 
schools  reporting  on  the  item,  37,  or  13.3  per  cent,  had 
periods  of  30  minutes;  166,  or  59.9  per  cent,  had  periods  of 
31-45  minutes;  58,  or  20.9  per  cent,  had  periods  of  46-60 
minutes;  and  16,  or  5.8  per  cent,  had  periods  of  over  60 
minutes. 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  p.  327.     (Percentages  corrected.) 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  207 

TABLE  XXXIII 

SHOWING  THE  AMOUNT  OF  HOME  STUDY  IN  MINUTES  NORMALLY 
EXPECTED  EACH  SCHOOL  DAY  OF  PUPILS  IN  265  JUNIOR  HlGH 
SCHOOLS 

Minutes  per  day      No.  of  schools         Minutes  per  day      No.  of  schools 

0  20  70  10 

15  2  80  2 

20  1                             90  30 

30  7  100  3 

35  2  110  3 

40  4  120  24 

45  11  130  1 

50  1  150  1 

60  86  240  1 

None  in  seventh  grade 4  schools 

None  in  seventh  and  eighth  grades 4  schools 

"Very  little" 38  schools 

"Varies" 2  schools 

"Some  in  ninth  grade" 3  schools 

"Only  in  languages " 1  school 

Law  prohibits  home  study  for  pupils  under 

15  years  of  age  (California) 4  schools 

C.  PROJECT  TEACHING  AND  THE  SOCIALIZED  RECITATION 
Project  teaching  1  and  the  socialized  recitation,2  closely 
associated  in  both  theory  and  practice,  are  also  widely  ap- 
proved for  junior  high  schools.      Fifty-nine  per  cent  of 
Briggs's  selected  judges  consider  3  it  essential,  and  90.1  per 

1  See  the  bibliography  published  by  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Edu- 
cation: Library  Leaflet  No.  9,  November,  1919,  and  the  annotated  bibli- 
ography in  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  21,  pp.  150-74.     See  especially 
Kilpatrick:  Teachers  College  Record,  vol.  29,  pp.  319-35;  Snedden:  School 
and  Society,  vol.  4,  pp.  419-23;  and  Ruch:  School  and  Society,  vol.  11, 
pp.  386-87. 

2  See  Hunter:  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  3,  pp. 
387-406;  Gaston:  English  Journal,  vol.  8,  pp.  1-7;  and  Burns:  Education, 
vol.  39,  pp.  176-81. 

8  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  5,  p.  283. 


208  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

cent  consider  it  desirable  that  the  junior  high  schools  use 
many  projects.  Like  supervised  study  they  are  difficult 
of  successful  administration  because  of  their  demands  on 
information,  attitude,  ingenuity,  and  industry. 

In  the  schools  visited  there  was  relatively  a  considerable 
amount  of  project  teaching,  most  in  industrial  work  for  boys 
and  domestic  science  for  girls,  and  less  in  general  science, 
geography,  civics,  English  composition,  and  the  use  of  the 
library. 

One  hundred  and  fifty-eight  schools  replied  to  the  ques- 
tion, "Do  you  believe  in  the  regular  employment  of  the 
project  method?"  Nine  frankly  stated  that  they  were  not 
sufficiently  informed  as  to  the  method  to  express  an  opinion 
—  a  position  probably  shared  by  many  who  did  not  reply. 
Of  the  remaining  schools,  118,  or  79.2  per  cent,  said  that 
they  believe  in  the  employment  of  the  project  method  regu- 
larly; 18,  or  12.1  per  cent,  that  they  believe  in  it  "to  a  cer- 
tain extent";  and  13,  or  9  per  cent,  that  they  do  not. 

The  socialized  recitation  was  seen  less  frequently  than 
project  teaching.  It  was  best  exemplified  at  Lincoln, 
Nebraska,  where  careful  preparation  and  supervision  has 
made  it  common  and  effective  in  both  the  elementary  and 
the  junior  high  schools.  Combined  with  the  project,  it  was 
being  admirably  used  in  combined  civics  and  composition. 

D.  TEXTBOOKS 

It  is  generally  recognized  that  in  most  schools  textbooks 
determine  the  methods  of  teaching  probably  more  than  any 
other  factor.  In  the  beginning,  junior  high  schools  were 
forced  to  use  texts  prepared  for  elementary  schools  or  in  the. 


METHODS  OF  TEACHING  209 

new  subjects  those  for  pupils  usually  one  to  four  years  older. 
There  soon  followed  a  series  of  books  "adapted"  for  the 
junior  high  school,  the  adaptation  being  more  apparent  on 
the  cover  and  title-page  than  in  the  body  of  the  text. 

As  the  number  of  junior  high  schools  increased  and  as 
their  purposes  became  clearer,  publishers  began  to  issue 
especially  prepared  textbooks,  notably  in  mathematics  and 
general  science.  At  the  present  time,  influenced  largely  by 
the  several  special  subject  reports  of  the  Commission  on  the 
Reorganization  of  Secondary  Education,  they  are  spreading 
to  other  fields,  so  that  it  will  not  be  long  before  there  are  in 
all  subjects  textbooks  quite  as  adequate  for  the  junior  high 
school  as  other  books  are  now  for  the  elementary  or  senior 
high  schools. 

It  may  safely  be  asserted  that  by  and  large  the  new  texts 
are  considerably  more  in  harmony  with  advanced  educa- 
tional theory  than  those  which  are  being  replaced.  In  so 
far  as  they  are  sound,  their  success  or  failure  will  be  deter- 
mined largely  by  the  readiness  of  the  teachers  to  adapt  their 
methods  to  the  principles  which  are  theoretically  established 
and  successfully  used  by  those  who  are  well  prepared. 

In  methods  of  teaching,  as  in  the  curricula  and  courses 
of  study,  there  is  at  the  present  time  an  opportunity  for 
reform  in  the  junior  high  school  that  will  not  come  again 
after  habits  and  traditions  are  established,  as  they  are  in  the 
older  types  of  institutions.  What  will  be  done  with  the 
opportunity  depends  in  part  on  the  teachers  selected,  but 
chiefly  on  the  clarity  of  purpose  and  constant  supervision 
by  those  professionally  trained  for  the  work. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES 

THE  success  of  any  educational  institution  depends  primarily 
on  its  teachers.  Even  when  the  purposes  are  clear,  the 
courses  of  study  well  determined,  the  principles  of  discipline 
developed  by  experience,  and  traditions  established,  teach- 
ers make  or  mar  the  success  of  the  organization.  In  the 
junior  high  school,  where  many  details  are  relatively  new 
and  where  in  consequence  much  pioneering  must  be  done, 
the  importance  of  the  teachers  is  correspondingly  magnified. 
Superintendent  Simmonds,  of  Lewiston,  Idaho,  says  that 
"securing  the  proper  teachers  for  the  junior  high  school  is 
a  thousand  times  more  vital  than  the  curriculum."  More- 
over, the  pioneering  must  be  done  in  what  Hollister,  with 
the  approval  of  the  majority  of  schoolmen,  calls  "the  most 
trying  stage  of  common-school  education."  "A  teacher  [in 
the  junior  high  school]  needs  far  more  resourcefulness,  not 
only  to  meet  the  changeableness  of  youth  wisely,  but  also 
to  adapt  various  methods  of  presentation  to  individual 
capacities.  A  senior-high-school  class  is  a  far  more  homo- 
geneous group  than  one  in  the  junior  high  school."  l 

Granting  the  difficulties  of  pioneering  and  the  peculiar 
problems  of  early  adolescence,  when  boys  and  girls  become 
unusually  restive,  one  would  expect  administrators,  at  the 

1  Assistant  Superintendent  E.  Marie  Gugle,  Prospectus  for  Junior  High 
Sdwols.  Columbus,  Ohio,  1915. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  211 

beginning  of  a  junior  high  school,  to  make  the  most  serious 
effort  to  acquaint  the  teachers  with  the  definite  purposes  of 
the  new  institution,  to  reveal  in  a  large  way  the  possibilities, 
not  only  in  the  school  as  a  whole,  but  in  the  special  subjects 
of  study,  and  to  suggest  some  means  for  accomplishing 
the  ends  desired.  One  would  expect,  too,  provisions  in  the 
beginning,  at  least,  for  the  most  careful  supervision.  Un- 
fortunately these  expectations  have  in  no  general  way 
been  satisfied.  As  already  pointed  out,  many  junior  high 
schools  have  been  established  with  an  inadequate  concep- 
tion, even  on  the  part  of  the  administration,  of  purpose 
and  possibilities;  and  there  is  abundant  evidence  that 
the  majority  of  teachers  in  the  new  schools  have  been  left 
largely  to  their  own  resources  in  determining  and  directing 
their  work.  That  these  teachers  have  had  so  large  a  meas- 
ure of  success  is  a  tribute  to  their  own  initiative  and  good 
sense.  The  hope  of  the  movement  for  reorganization  lies 
partly  in  those  teachers  who  have  worked  out  the  problem 
for  themselves,  but  it  lies  even  more  in  the  schools  in  which 
there  has  been  coordinated  effort  between  administrators 
and  teachers  to  develop  plans  looking  toward  clearly  per- 
ceived goals. 

The  data  in  this  chapter  will  tend  to  discourage  a  reader 
who  has  set  the  ideals  of  the  movement  high,  especially  if  he 
fails  to  contrast  them  with  the  facts  concerning  teachers  in 
schools  of  the  older  type  of  organization.  Coffman,1  from 
a  study  in  1911  of  5215  teachers  in  17  States,  draws  the 
following  conclusions : 

1  The  Social  Composition  of  the  Teaching  Population,  pp.  79-80.  There  is 
also  given,  on  pp.  80-81,  a  characterization  of  the  typical  female  teacher. 


212  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

The  typical  American  male  public-school  teacher  is  twenty-nine 
years  of  age,  having  begun  teaching  when  he  was  almost  twenty 
years  of  age  after  he  had  received  but  three  or  four  years  of  train- 
ing beyond  the  elementary  school.  In  the  nine  years  elapsing 
between  the  age  he  began  teaching  and  his  present  age,  he  has  had 
seven  years  of  experience,  and  his  salary  at  the  present  time  is  $489 
a  year.  Both  of  his  parents  were  living  when  he  entered  teaching 
and  both  spoke  the  English  language.  They  had  an  annual  in- 
come from  their  farm  of  $700  which  they  were  compelled  to  use 
to  support  themselves  and  their  four  or  five  children. 

His  first  experience  as  a  teacher  was  secured  in  the  rurai  schools, 
where  he  remained  for  two  years  at  a  salary  of  $390  per  year.  He 
found  it  customary  for  rural-school  teachers  to  have  only  three 
years  of  training  beyond  the  elementary  school,  but  in  order  for 
him  to  advance  to  a  town-school  position  he  had  to  get  an  addi- 
tional year  of  training.  He  also  found  that  in  case  he  wished  to 
become  a  city-school  teacher  that  two  more  years  of  training,  or 
six  in  all  beyond  the  elementary  school,  were  needed. 

His  salary  increased  rather  regularly  during  the  first  six  years 
of  his  experience,  or  until  he  was  about  twenty-six  years  of  age. 
After  that  he  found  that  age  and  experience  played  a  rather  insig- 
nificant part  in  determining  his  salary,  but  that  training  still 
afforded  him  a  powerful  leverage. 

In  Bulletin  44  (1915)  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of 
Education  are  given  data  concerning  the  requirements  for 
teachers  in  1311  towns  and  cities  with  populations  between 
2500  and  30,000.  There  we  are  informed  that  only  69.2 
per  cent  of  these  cities  require  their  high-school  teachers  to 
be  college  graduates  and  that  54.6  per  cent  of  them  employ 
as  high-school  teachers  college  graduates  without  experi- 
ence; that  only  36.2  per  cent  require  their  elementary-school 
teachers  to  be  normal-school  graduates,  and  that  48.1  per 
cent  of  the  cities  will  even  accept  as  teachers  graduates  of 
high  schools,  and  that  14.3  per  cent  of  the  cities  employ 
high-school  graduates  without  experience.  Additional  data, 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  213 

of  similar  depressing  effect,  regarding  the  immaturity,  prepa- 
ration, and  brevity  of  service  of  teachers  are  presented  in 
Bulletin  No.  3  by  the  National  Education  Association  Com- 
mission on  the  National  Program  in  Education,  1918;  and 
since  that  date  standards  have  been  generally  lowered  be- 
cause of  the  scarcity  of  teachers  for  the  salaries  offered. 

State  requirements  for  junior-high-school  teachers.  Sev- 
eral States  have  made  official  requirements  or  recommenda- 
tions concerning  the  qualifications  of  junior-high-school 
teachers.  In  1916  the  California  State  Board  of  Education 
adopted  regulations  to  the  effect  that 

holders  of  elementary-school  certificates  who  have  completed  two 
years  of  work  in  a  college,  or  one  year  of  work  in  a  college  in  addi- 
tion to  a  normal-school  course,  may  teach  in  the  third  year  of  any 
intermediate-school  course,  provided  they  comply  with  the  follow- 
ing regulations : 

Candidates  who  are  not  graduates  of  normal  schools  must  have 
completed  at  least  sixty  semester  hours  in  regular  college  courses, 
including  at  least  ten  hours  of  pedagogy,  and  at  least  ten  hours 
each  in  any  three  of  the  following  departments :  English,  French, 
German,  Spanish,  Latin,  History,  Mathematics,  Physical  Science, 
Biological  Science.  Candidates  who  have  had  twenty  months  of 
experience  are  required  to  take  only  five  units  of  pedagogy. 
Candidates  who  are  graduates  of  accredited  normal  schools  must 
have  completed  in  regular  college  courses  at  least  thirty  semester 
hours,  including  at  least  ten  hours  each  in  any  two  of  the  subjects 
enumerated  above. 

The  Minnesota  State  High-School  Board  in  1916  approved 
the  recommendation  that  "graduates  of  the  special  three- 
year  course  of  Minnesota  State  Normal  Schools"  be  con- 
sidered qualified  to  teach  in  junior  high  schools.  The  Ohio 
State  Department  of  Education  1  in  1917  decided  that 

1  The  Junior  High  School:  Manual  of  Requirements  and  Suggestions. 
Columbus,  1917. 


214  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

the  scholastic  attainments  required  of  teachers  of  third-grade  high 
schools  shall  likewise  constitute  the  standards  of  scholarship  re- 
quired of  teachers  of  junior  high  schools.  It  will  be  understood, 
however,  that  this  training  shall  in  all  cases  include  special  study 
of  junior-high-school  methods  of  teaching. 

The  attainments  required  of  teachers  of  third-grade  high 
schools  are  as  follows: 

All  teachers  shall  be  graduates  of  first-grade  high  schools,  and  in 
addition  thereto  shall  have  done  at  least  one  year  of  collegiate 
work  or  have  scholastic  attainment  equivalent  to  that  represented 
by  the  foregoing  five  years  of  training.  All  teachers  should  be 
continually  growing  professionally.  .  .  ,L 

Standards  for  teachers.  New  Hampshire,  which  for 
several  years  has  been  developing  its  extension  of  secondary 
education  to  six  years,  in  Circular  No.  1  states: 

At  this  time  it  is  impossible  to  obtain  secondary  teachers  trained  for 
their  work.  We  will  accept  this  situation  for  the  present,  but  we 
must  insist  that  teachers  have  no  other  capital  defect  beyond  their 
ignorance  of  the  teaching  process.  We  have  long  demanded  that 
they  be  satisfactory  in  character  and  in  mentality.  We  must  now 
insist  that  they  have  in  addition  sufficient  maturity  and  experience 
to  make  them  leaders  of  young  people,  and  sufficient  knowledge 
so  that  they  may  guide  them.  .  .  .  Teachers  must  have  a  bachelor's 
degree  from  an  approved  college. 

Among  the  exceptions  made  to  the  last  requirement  is  that 
those  "holding  Grade  B  certificates  may  teach  below  the 
tenth  grade,"  and  those  "who  have  one,  two,  or  three  years 
of  post-secondary  study  in  approved  institutions  may  be 
approved  to  teach  courses  not  above  the  corresponding  years 
of  the  secondary  program"  —  that  is,  hi  grades  7,  8,  or  9. 
With  the  development  of  departmental  and  differentiated 

1  Ohio  High-School  Standards,  pp.  13-14. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  215 

work  in  the  grammar  grades  a  number  of  cities,  whether 
they  have  junior  high  schools  or  not,  have  established  an 
intermediate  type  of  teachers'  license.  New  York  City  has 
for  years  had  its  License  Number  2.  Boston  has  recently 
established  its  Intermediate  certificate  for  teachers  in  junior 
high  schools. 

.  Teachers  appointed  to  serve  under  this  certificate  will  give  in- 
struction departmentally  in  the  subjects  they  elect  as  majors.  In 
general,  the  academic  standards  for  this  examination  will  be  inter- 
mediary between  those  heretofore  established  for  the  Elementary- 
School,  Class  A  certificate,  and  those  for  the  High-School  certifi- 
cate. For  instance,  the  major  examinations  in  foreign  languages 
will  be  of  an  academic  standard  equivalent  to  that  established  for 
the  minor  papers  for  the  High-School  certificate.  Teachers  of  any 
modern  foreign  language  in  the  intermediate  classes  must  be 
equipped  with  a  speaking  knowledge.  The  oral  tests  in  modern 
foreign  languages,  therefore,  will  be  very  critical. 

The  tests  in  mathematics  will  embrace  the  work  of  Grades  7,  8, 
and  9,  in  accordance  with  the  newer  viewpoint  of  teaching  mathe- 
matics as  a  unit.  .  .  .  The  examinations  in  science,  in  history  and 
geography,  and  in  English,  likewise,  will  be  in  harmony  with  the 
work  now  undertaken  in  the  intermediate  classes,  the  basis  of  the 
tests  being  the  courses  of  study  that  have  already  been  prepared 
for  intermediate  classes. 

Lewis,  in  his  Standards  for  Measuring  Junior  High  Schools,1 
proposed  that 

all  teachers  shall  be  graduates  of  a  four-year  high-school  course  or 
its  equivalent.  In  addition  they  shall  be  graduates  of  a  standard 
normal  school  with  at  least  one  year  of  practice  teaching  experience 
or  they  shall  have  had  at  least  two  years  of  college  work,  with 
preparation  in  the  branches  to  be  taught,  with  practice  teaching 
experience.  Furthermore,  all  teachers  shall  be  required  to  have 
had  two  years  of  distinctive  successful  teaching  experience,  prefer- 
ably in  the  grades,  and  show  some  evidence  of  professional  interest, 

1  University  of  Iowa  Extension  Bulletin.    1916. 


216  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

training,  and  study  before  being  employed  to  teach  in  junior  high 
schools.  Better  still,  all  should  be  college  graduates,  with  practice 
teaching  experience  and  one  year  of  successful  classroom  experience 
in  the  grades.  It  is  desirable  that  special  preparation  should  be 
made  during  the  college  course  to  teach  one  or  two  subjects.  The 
promotion  of  eminently  successful  teachers  within  the  system  shall 
be  possible  only  for  those  who  meet  the  above  requirements. 

Davis  1  demands 

teachers  in  the  junior-high-school  grades  as  thoroughly  trained  and 
as  efficient  as  those  in  the  senior  high  school.  Ultimately,  yea, 
speedily,  this  means  teachers  with  college  degrees  and  professional 
training.  It  ought  to  mean,  also,  teachers  of  successful  experience 
and  with  maturity  of  judgment.  The  task  of  introducing  pupils 
for  the  first  time  to  new  lines  of  thought  and  responses  calls  for  the 
highest  possible  skill.  The  young  callow  girl  or  boy,  perfect  it  may 
be  in  the  knowledge  of  the  subject  to  be  taught,  but  ignorant  of 
the  deeper  meanings  of  life  and  life's  relations,  will  serve  the  cause 
of  education  vastly  better  if  put  in  charge  of  advanced  courses 
than  over  beginners.  From  the  typical  young  Ph.D.  man  in  col- 
lege and  the  typical  young  A.B.  student  in  junior  high  school  may 
the  supervising  authorities  forever  deliver  the  freshman  student. 

During  the  period  of  transition  from  the  old  system  to  the  new, 
insistence  on  the  employment  of  none  but  college-bred  teachers 
would,  however,  be  as  unjust  as  it  would  be  futile  and  impracti- 
cable. Old  and  faithful  teachers  may  not  be  made  to  suffer  nor  be 
unceremoniously  eliminated  from  the  system.  Time  and  oppor- 
tunity for  readjustments  must  be  permitted.  For  those  teachers 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  who  are  by  temperament  unfitted 
for  departmental  work  transfers  of  position  must  be  made.  For 
others  the  assignment  of  such  courses  as  they  are  amply  fitted  to 
teach  effectively  must  be  made.  For  all  continued  growth  in  ser- 
vice must  be  demanded.  Hence  leave  of  absence  for  such  as  seek 
it  in  order  to  fit  themselves  the  better  for  the  new  work  should  be 
cheerfully  granted  by  Boards  of  Education. 

1  The  Subject-Matter  and  Administration  of  the  Six-Three-Three  Plan  of 
Secondary  Schools.  University  of  Michigan  Bulletin,  1915. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  217 

Gosling, l  of  the  State  Department  of  Education  for  Wis- 
consin, writes: 

So  far  as  the  junior  high  school  is  concerned,  the  fitness  of  the 
teacher  involves  thorough  scholarship,  a  large  and  generous  and 
inspiring  personality,  adequate  professional  training,  understand- 
ing of,  and  love  for,  boys  and  girls  in  their  early  adolescence,  quali- 
ties of  real  leadership,  and  a  broad  social  outlook  which  will  result 
in  positive  service  in  the  school  and  which  will  connect  the  school 
and  its  pupils  with  the  social  environment  outside.  .  .  .  The  dis- 
tinguishing characteristics  of  junior-high-school  teachers  are  that 
at  their  best  they  exhibit  both  broad  human  sympathies  and  sound 
scholarship  and  that  they  respond  generously  to  the  new  social 
demands  which  a  progressive  educational  program  is  making  upon 
them.  In  other  words,  the  successful  junior-high-school  teacher 
must  combine  the  distinguishing  qualities  of  the  successful  elemen- 
tary teacher  and  of  the  successful  senior-high-school  teacher  and 
in  addition  must  have  an  unusual  willingness  and  ability  to  respond 
to  the  opportunities  for  usefulness  which  only  a  broad  social  out- 
look and  a  keen  sensitiveness  to  social  obligations  can  give.  .  .  . 

The  standards  which  have  been  fixed  in  the  best  schools  have 
already  been  mentioned.  They  may  be  summarized  as  follows : 

(1)  Graduation  from  a  reputable  college  or  university. 

(2)  Professional  training  in  a  normal  school  or  in  a  school  of 
education  connected  with  a  university;  or  in  lieu  thereof, 
successful  experience  in  teaching. 

(3)  Understanding  of,  and  sympathy  with,  adolescent  boys  and 
girls. 

(4)  A  clean,  generous,  and  inspiring  personality. 

(5)  Qualities  of  real  leadership. 

(6)  A  broad  social  vision  and  a  keen  sense  of  social  obligations. 

In  1918  the  North  Central  Association  of  Colleges  and 
Secondary  Schools  unanimously  adopted  the  following 
recommendation  of  its  Commission  on  Unit  Courses  and 
Curricula: 

1  Gosling:  The  Selection  and  Training  of  Teachers  for  Junior  High  Schools, 
pp.  160-70, 173,  part  1,  Eighteenth  I 'ear-Book  of  National  Society  for  Study 
of  Education. 


218  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

1.  The  Commission  recommends  that  the  standard  of  prepara- 
tion for  the  teacher  of  the  ninth  grade  of  the  junior  high  school 
be  the  same  as  the  standard  now  administered  for  secondary 
teachers  by  the  North  Central  Association.    An  equally  high 
standard  of  preparation  for  the  teacher  of  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  of  the  junior  high  school  should  be  insisted  upon 
as  soon  as  practicable. 

2.  It  recommends  as  a  maximum  a  daily  school  schedule  of  six 
full  hours  of  study,  recreation,  or  laboratory  work,  and  five 
full  hours  as  a  maximum  teaching  schedule. 

3.  It  sanctions  a  general  policy  of  attempting  to  equalize  more 
nearly  the  number  of  men  and  women  teachers  on  the  staff  of 
the  junior  high  school. 

It  is  well  to  note  at  this  point  that  these  standards  repre- 
sent ideals.  That  they  are  not  fully  met  by  the  teachers 
actually  employed  is  easily  explicable.  Teachers  in  junior 
high  schools  probably  conform  to  ideal  standards  quite  as 
closely  as  do  teachers  in  any  other  types  of  institutions. 

So  much  for  the  requirements  of  teachers  demanded  or 
proposed.  Douglass  l  quotes  from  superintendents  a  num- 
ber of  similar,  but  usually  lower,  standards.  Two  of  the 
quotations  are  here  reproduced.  Superintendent  Scofield,  of 
Eugene,  Oregon,  wrote: 

The  successful  junior-high-school  teacher  must  have  enough 
breadth  of  training  or  experience  to  be  able  to  see,  not  only  her  own 
part  of  the  course,  but  also  where  the  pupil  is  coming  from  and 
where  he  is  going  after  leaving  the  junior  high  school.  My  own 
experience  has  been  that  the  teacher  with  the  most  varied  experi- 
ence and  training  is  the  one  most  valuable  for  this  work.  The 
teacher  with  a  normal-school  course  rounded  out  by  later  college 
or  university  work  would  have  an  ideal  training. 

Superintendent  Horn,  of  Houston,  Texas,  wrote: 

1  The  Junior  High  School.    1916. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  219 

The  matter  of  the  qualification  of  the  junior-high-school  teachers 
is  indeed  a  vital  one.  We  have  found  from  experience  that  those 
teachers  who  are  university  graduates,  but  who  have  for  several 
years  been  successfully  teaching  in  the  elementary  schools  are  de- 
cidedly more  successful  as  junior-high-school  teachers  than  are  the 
university  graduates  whose  teaching  experience  has  been  exclu- 
sively high-school  work  of  the  older  type.  .  .  .  The  chief  reason 
seems  to  me  to  be  that  the  average  good  teacher  in  the  elementary 
school  comes  nearer  having  the  right  attitude  toward  her  work 
than  does  the  average  teacher  hi  the  high  school  as  it  has  been. 

Whatever  standards  are  set  up,  provided  they  be  not 
mandatory,  a  superintendent  is  likely  to  select  the  best 
teachers  that  he  can  find,  most  probably  in  his  own  system, 
regardless  of  academic  training  or  degrees.  Of  course  he  is 
usually  limited  in  the  amount  of  salary  he  can  pay.  As 
Superintendent  Giles,  of  Richmond,  Indiana,  wrote: 1 

No  set  standard  has  been  adopted  as  to  qualifications  of  our 
teachers.  We  are  frequently  obliged  to  choose  between  an  inex- 
perienced teacher  of  good  scholarship  and  one  with  successful 
experience,  but  less  scholarship  training.  We  decide  each  case  on 
its  merits,  of  course  giving  preference  to  the  applicant  with  college 
training,  if  other  conditions  are  at  all  equal. 

Not  infrequently  higher  requirements  are  made  for  teach- 
ers in  the  ninth  grade,  even  though  it  is  incorporated  with 
the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  in  a  three-year  junior  school. 
North  Dakota  2  permits  teachers  with  normal-school  train- 
ing to  be 

employed  in  these  reorganized  schools  for  any  work  except  the  aca- 
demic work  of  the  four-year  high-school  course  or  such  work  hi  the 
ninth  grade  of  the  junior  high  school.  Our  certificate  laws  require 
that  academic  work  such  as  is  comprised  in  the  usual  four-year 

1  Douglass,  p.  114.         2  State  High  School  Inspector's  Report.    1917. 


220  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

high-school  course  must  be  taught  by  teachers  who  are  college 
graduates  holding  first-grade  professional  certificates. 

Similar  requirements  prevail  in  several  other  states. 

Sources  of  teachers.  As  may  be  suspected,  the  require- 
ments for  junior-high-school  teachers  depends  largely  on  the 
organization  of  the  grades.  When  all  six  years  of  secondary 
education  are  under  one  principal  in  one  building,  especially 
in  small  schools,  the  teachers  are  likely  to  be  identical  for 
both  the  lower  and  the  upper  years.  When  the  junior  high 
school  includes  only  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  in  a 
separate  organization,  the  teachers  are  likely  to  be  drawn 
largely,  if  not  entirely,  from  the  elementary-school  staff. 
It  is  when  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades  are  organ- 
ized together,  especially  when  the  school  is  large  enough  for 
the  difference  of  salary  between  the  elementary-  and  the 
secondary-school  schedule,  multiplied  by  the  number  of 
teachers  involved,  to  be  material,  that  the  problem  becomes 
complex.  Davis  reports  1  that  30  per  cent  of  the  junior  high 
schools  in  the  North  Central  territory  have  the  same  require- 
ments for  teachers  as  do  their  senior  high  schools,  and  that 
35.2  per  cent  of  these  schools  have  teachers  who  also  give 
instruction  in  the  upper  school.  As  the  average  number  of 
teachers  in  these  293  schools  is  9.4,  the  conditions  that  he 
reports  are  symptomatic  of  high  standards  for  the  inter- 
mediate schools  of  the  Middle  West. 

In  the  great  majority  of  places  it  has  been  found  advisable 

to  place  in  the  junior  high  school  teachers  selected  from  the 

upper  elementary-school  grades.     For  this  there  are  several 

very  cogent  reasons,  chief  of  which  is  that  these  teachers 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  pp.  327-28. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  221 

were  already  in  charge  of  the  pupils  who  were  for  the  most 
part  to  constitute  the  new  school.  Moreover,  adminis- 
trators generally  hold  that  from  these  grammar-grade  teach- 
ers they  can  select  a  number  who  are  among  the  most  skilled 
in  the  entire  system  and  who  are  ambitious  for  what  they 
consider  a  promotion.  Their  experience  in  the  grades  has 
given  them  an  understanding  of  boys  and  girls  in  early 
adolescence  and  has  made  them  appreciative  of  individual 
differences  in  abilities  and  sympathetic  with  any  plans  that 
will  provide  for  differentiation  of  work.  Whether  or  not 
they  are  by  and  large  better  teachers  than  others  in  the  high 
school,  as  many  maintain,  it  is  unnecessary  to  consider,  for 
they  are  usually  eager  to  work  in  the  new  type  of  school, 
while  the  high-school  teacher  of  however  humble  rank  is 
likely  to  consider  his  transfer  anything  but  a  promotion. 
However  illogical  this  feeling  may  be,  it  is  human  nature 
supported  by  American  salary  schedules.  Fullerton  l  early 
took  the  position  that  this  use  of  grammar-grade  teachers  in 
junior  high  schools  would  be  a  mistake  as  resulting  in  poor 
teaching  and  a  lowering  of  scholarship,  especially  in  the 
ninth  grade.  But  superintendents  have  apparently  pre- 
ferred to  assure  themselves,  first  of  all,  of  good  teachers 
whom  they  knew  and  to  risk  the  scholarship.2  It  must  be 
noted  that  many  teachers  in  the  grammar  grade  have  been 
prepared  for  work  higher  than  they  are  doing  and  that  the 
ambitious  ones  frequently  have  advanced,  by  continued 

1  Junior  High  Schools,  Columbus,  Ohio,  Superintendent's  Report.    1912. 

2  This  assertion  is  supported  by  the  statement  of  an  appointment  secre- 
tary of  a  college  of  education,  that  proportionately  there  have  been  few 
calls  for  junior-high-school  teachers,  even  though  the  college  has  offered 
special  courses  to  prepare  them  for  the  work, 


222  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

study  and  other  means,  in  one  or  more  special  subjects.  A 
question  that  should  in  this  connection  be  considered  is 
whether  administrators  have  always  been  fair  to  the  elemen- 
tary schools  when  they  have  promoted  the  best  grammar- 
grade  teachers  to  the  junior  high  school  while  leaving  the 
poor  and  the  mediocre  ones  in  unreorganized  buildings. 

Sex  of  teachers.  Snedden  l  voices  the  opinion  of  many 
when  he  asserted  that  "a  certain  proportion  of  men  teachers 
should  be  assigned  to  departmental  positions,  not  primarily 
because  they  are  necessarily  better  teachers  than  women, 
but  because  it  is  desirable  to  introduce,  in  boys'  classes  at 
any  rate,  the  influence  of  masculine  personality";  and  it 
has  been  argued  that  the  introduction  of  junior  high  schools 
would  result  hi  a  larger  proportion  of  men  teachers  for  chil- 
dren of  early  adolescence.  Briggs  2  asserted  in  1914  that 
there  was  then  in  the  junior  high  schools  making  report  to 
the  Bureau  of  Education  "a  considerably  larger  proportion 
of  men  .  .  .  than  is  usually  found  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades  of  the  regular  grammar  school." 

In  the  265  junior  high  schools  that  reported  for  this  study 
the  number  of  teachers  by  sex,  there  were  845  men  (25.2  per 
cent)  and  2513  women  (74.8  per  cent).  Only  21  of  these 
schools  had  no  men  teachers.  It  is  quite  possible,  however, 
that  a  majority  of  the  schools  not  reporting  had  no  men 
teachers;  for  it  is  a  well-recognized  fact  that  in  questionnaire 
answers  details  are  most  frequently  omitted  when  they  are 
or  seem  to  be  unfavorable.  The  median  number  of  men 

1  "Reorganization  of  Education  for  Children  from  Twelve  to  Four- 
teen Years  of  Age,"  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  2, 
pp.  425-33. 

2  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Education  (1914),  vol.  i. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  223 

teachers  per  school  is  1-4;  for  women  teachers,  5-9;  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  number  of  men  and  women  teachers  by 
schools  is  shown  in  Table  XXXIV,  which  is  to  be  read:  "In 
196  schools  there  are  1-4  men  teachers;  in  30,  there  are  5-9 
men,"  etc. 

TABLE  XXXIV 

SHOWING  FOR  265  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  THE  NUMBER  HAVING 
VARIOUS  NUMBERS  OF  MEN  AND  WOMEN  TEACHERS 

Total  number  of  teachers  Number  of  schools  having 

Men  Women 

1-4         196  106 

5-9        30  69 

10-14       12  36 

15-19       4  21 

20-24       1  14 

25-29       1  5 

30-34       0  7 

35-39       0  3 

40-44       0  3 

50-54       0  1 

The  entire  distribution  of  men  teachers  in  the  265  junior 
high  schools  reporting  is  shown  in  Table  XXXV.  This 
shows  no  constant  relationship  between  the  size  of  schools 
and  the  proportion  of  men  teachers;  in  each  group  the  av- 
erage percentage  of  men  falls  in  the  21-30  step,  and  only  in 
the  schools  of  the  largest  size  do  we  find  none  with  more 
than  half  the  teachers  men. 

There  are  no  available  data  concerning  the  proportion  of 
men  teaching  in  unreorganized  seventh  and  eighth  grades, 
but  there  is  abundant  evidence  that  it  is  steadily  decreasing. 
Reports  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education 
afford  data  from  which  it  may  be  calculated  that  in  our 


£24 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


TABLE  XXXV 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  MEN  TEACHERS  IN  JUNIOR 
SCHOOLS  OF  VARIOUS  SIZES 


Total 
number 
of  teachers 
in  schools 

Per  cent  of  the  schools  having  various 
per  cents  of  men  teachers 

Total 
number 
of  schools 
reporting 

0 

1-10 

11-20 

21-30 

31-40 

41-50 

51-60 

61-70 

1^4  

22.4 
8.2 
6.7 
7.1 

0 
4.7 
20.0 
10.7 

4.2 
4.8 
25.0 

15.5 

28.2 
20.0 
28.6 
33.3 
38.1 
0 

24.1 
17.7 
37.8 
28.6 
33.3 
23.8 
0 

22.4 
24.7 
9.0 
14.3 
16.7 
28.6 
75.0 

12.1 
11.8 
4.4 
7.1 

4.2 
4.8 

3.5 
3.5 
0 
3.6 
8.4 

1.2 

2.2 

58 
85 
45 
28 
24 
21 
4 

5-9  

10-14  

15-19  

20-29  

30-49  

50-79  

Totals... 

9.4 

7.2 

24.9 

25.3 

20.8 

8.7 

3.0 

0.8 

265 

This  table  is  to  be  read  as  follows:  Of  58  schools  having  1-4  teachers, 
22.4  per  cent  have  no  men  teachers,  15.5  per  cent  have  11-20  per  cent  of 
men,  24.1  per  cent  have  21-30  per  cent  of  men;  etc. 

elementary  schools  the  percentage  of  men  teachers  has  fallen 
from  42.8  in  1880,  to  34.5  in  1890,  to  28.9  in  1900,  to  19.0  in 
1910,  to  16.9  in  1915,  and  to  13.4  in  1918.  If  the  curve 
(shown  on  page  15)  continues  to  fall  without  material 
change,  we  may  expect  the  male  teacher  in  the  elementary 
school  to  be  extinct  shortly  after  1930.  Recent  conditions 
have  so  bent  the  curve  downward  that,  unless  changed  by 
factors  that  are  not  now  operative,  it  will  reach  the  baseline 
within  a  decade.  The  chart  also  shows  that  the  percentage 
of  men  teachers  even  in  the  high  school  is  decreasing  at  an 
alarming  rate.  The  proportion  of  men  teachers  reported  in 
junior  high  schools  is,  therefore,  important  and  encouraging. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  225 

Davis  l  found  that  the  2760  teachers  in  the  293  junior 
high  schools  of  the  North  Central  Association  were  dis- 
tributed as  shown  in  Table  XXXVI. 

TABLE  XXXVI 

SHOWING  FOB  293  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  OF  THE  NORTH  CENTRAL 
ASSOCIATION  THE  NUMBERS  AND  PERCENTAGES  OF  MEN  AND 
WOMEN  TEACHERS 

Number  Per  cent 

Academic  men 352  12.8 

Vocational  men 338  12.2 

Total  men        690  25 . 0 

Academic  women 1592  57 . 7 

Vocational  women .  . 478  17 . 3 

Total  women..  2070  75.0 


Educational  training.  What  is  the  proportion  of  junior- 
high-school  teachers  who  are  graduates  of  colleges?  In  the 
266  schools  returning  data  for  this  question  there  were  3338 
teachers,  an  average  of  12.5  and  a  median  of  9  to  the  school. 
Of  these,  1621,  or  48.6  per  cent,  were  college  graduates. 
Forty,  or  15.0  per  cent,  of  the  schools,  had  none  but  college 
graduates  in  their  corps,  and  31,  or  11.7  per  cent,  had  no 
college  graduates  at  all. 

The  size  of  the  school  seems  to  have  little  influence  on  the 
proportions  of  college  graduates  in  the  teaching  corps.  So 
far  as  a  tendency  is  revealed  by  the  grouping  in  Table 
XXXVII,  the  smaller  the  school  the  better  prepared  its 
teachers  seem  to  be,  until  the  largest  group,  which  takes  a 
median  position. 

1  School  Review,  vol.  2G,  p.  326. 


36  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  XXXVII 

SHOWING  THE  PROPORTION  or  COLLEGE  GRADUATES  IN  JUNIOR 
HIGH  SCHOOLS  GROUPED  ACCORDING  TO  SIZE 


Number  of 
teachers  in  corps 

Number  of 
schools 

Total 
number  of 
teachers 

Total  number 
of  college 
graduates 

Per  cent  of 
college 
graduates 

1-5  

82 

287 

166 

57  9 

6-11  

82 

660 

337 

51  1 

12-21  

55 

850 

406 

47  8 

22-36  

31 

835 

366 

43  8 

87-70  

16 

706 

346 

49  0 

Total  

266 

3338 

1621 

46  8 

These  data  reveal  a  distinctly  encouraging  situation.  The 
266  schools  that  reported  on  this  item  have  very  materially 
increased  the  proportion  of  college  graduates  for  the  instruc- 
tion of  their  pupils  in  early  adolescence.  When  it  is  recalled 
that  to  a  large  extent  junior  high  schools  were  staffed  with 
teachers  who  had  already  proved  their  worth  by  efficient 
service,  we  cannot  but  conclude  that  the  junior  high  school 
has  made  a  distinct  contribution  toward  raising  the  stand- 
ards of  teachers  in  the  intermediate  period.  Moreover, 
the  situation  is  likely  to  grow  better  in  established  schools, 
for  a  number  of  administrators  have  volunteered  statements 
in  entire  harmony  with  the  following  quotation  from  Super- 
intendent Barker,  of  Oakland,  California: l 

While  nearly  all  the  teachers  employed  at  the  time  of  the  change 
to  the  departmental  plan  were  retained,  a  large  proportion  of  the 
new  teachers  appointed  are  college  graduates  with  successful  ex- 


1  The  Intermediate  School  Situation  in  Oakland.    1917. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  227 

perience  in  elementary  as  well  as  in  high  schools.  ...  At  the  pres- 
ent time  approximately  one  half  of  the  teachers  in  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  where  the  departmental  method  is  employed  are 
college  graduates  with  sufficient  graduate  training  to  meet  the  state 
requirements  for  high-school  certification. 

Evenden  l  found  from  the  returns  of  167  cities  that  the 
median  requirement  of  academic  and  professional  training 
above  the  eighth  grade  for  junior-high-school  teachers  was 
6.44  years.  If  his  167  cities  are  similar  to  the  266  returning 
data  on  the  teachers  employed  in  1917,  the  difference  means 
either  that  schools  actually  secure  teachers  somewhat  better 
prepared  than  the  requirements  demand  or  that  there  had 
been  a  considerable  falling-off  in  quality  during  two  years. 
The  complete  distribution  of  the  requirements  of  Evenden 's 
167  cities  is  shown  in  Table  XXXVIII.  There  was  no  con- 
siderable variation  from  the  median  by  any  section  of  the 
United  States. 

TABLE  XXXVIII 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  YEARS  IN  ACADEMIC  AND  PROFESSIONAL 
PREPARATION  ABOVE  THE  EIGHTH  GRADE  WHICH  is  PREREQUIS- 
ITE TO  ELECTION  IN  THE  INTERMEDIATE  SCHOOLS  OF  167  CITIES 
REPORTING  IN  1819. 


Years  of  preparation 
beyond  the  eighth  grade 
0 

Number 
of  schools 
0 

Years  of  preparation 
beyond  the  eighth  grade 
7 

Number 
of  schools 
3 

1 

1 

8 

12 

2 

8 

9 

2 

3 

2 

4-6 

1 

4 

11 

6-8 

10 

5 

7 

Varied 

13 

6 

97 

1  Teachers'  Salaries  and  Salary  Schedules  in  the  United  States,  1918-19, 
p.  62, 


228  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Special  training.  The  number  of  junior-high-school  teach- 
ers that  have  had  special  training  for  their  work  is  small. 
Twenty  schools  report  that  they  had  1  to  4  teachers  specially 
trained  in  colleges  for  junior-high-school  work,  and  five 
schools  report  5  to  9  such  teachers.  All  of  the  teachers  in 
two  of  the  schools  were  specially  trained  in  college  courses 
for  their  work.  Although  only  206  schools  returned  data 
on  this  point,  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  the  percent- 
age of  schools  with  such  specially  prepared  teachers  (12  per 
cent)  would  materially  rise  if  all  the  schools  had  reported. 

Vermont  held  a  special  series  of  institutes  under  the  charge 
of  the  State  Supervisor  of  Junior  High  Schools  when  it  was 
decided  to  extend  secondary  education  there  in  accordance 
with  the  recommendations  of  the  Educational  Survey;  and 
several  cities  have  conducted  classes  for  the  preparation  of 
teachers  who  were  already  in  service  in  other  positions  in 
the  system.  Boston,  for  instance,  provided  courses  in  the 
teaching  of  English,  mathematics,  history,  geography,  and 
science,  which  were  attended  by  at  least  one  teacher  in  each 
district.  From  those  attending  the  courses  have  been 
chosen  heads  of  departmental  work.1  No  wiser  plan  has 
been  made  public  than  that  devised  by  Superintendent  H.  S. 
Weet  at  Rochester,  New  York: 2 

Once  it  was  decided  to  select  experienced  grade  teachers,  the 
problem  of  intelligent  selection  presented  itself.  Accordingly,  one 
year  before  the' junior  high  school  was  to  open,  a  series  of  Saturday 
morning  institutes  was  begun.  Classes  were  organized  in  Latin, 
German,  English,  elementary'  science,  and  mathematics.  These 
were  for  applicants  for  teaching  positions  in  the  academic  course. 

1  Superintendents  Report.     1917. 

2  National  Education  Association  Bulletin  4,   1916,  No.   6,  p.   151. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  229 

Specially  trained  teachers  were  available  for  the  commercial  and 
household-  and  industrial-arts  courses,  though  Saturday  morning 
institutes  were  organized  and  carried  on  through  the  year  in  these 
courses  also.  The  major  emphasis  in  these  latter  was  on  courses 
of  study. 

To  these  courses  every  experienced  grade  teacher  in  the  system 
who  met  the  minimal  requirements  and  who  cared  to  apply  was 
admitted.  Every  applicant  for  a  position  as  teacher  of  mathe- 
matics in  the  junior  high  school  was  required  to  have  had,  for 
example,  the  full  mathematics  courses  of  the  upper  high  school. 
To  continue  with  the  subject  of  mathematics,  as  illustrative  of  the 
principle  which  prevailed  in  these  institutes,  three  definite  things 
were  accomplished.  In  the  first  place,  an  opportunity  was  given 
for  drawing  up  in  outline  a  course  of  study  in  general  mathematics 
for  the  eighth  grade  or  secorid  year  of  the  junior  high  school  for 
pupils  of  the  academic  course.  .  .  .  The  institute  was  in  charge  of 
the  head  of  the  department  of  mathematics  in  the  high  school  to 
which  the  pupils  of  this  particular  junior  high  school  would  go.  .  .  . 
In  the  institute  class,  on  the  other  hand,  were  the  experienced  grade 
teachers  with  their  knowledge  of  the  capacities  and  limitations  of 
upper-grade  study.  ...  In  the  second  place,  these  institutes  gave 
to  the  grade  teachers  an  opportunity  for  subject-matter  review 
in  algebra  and  geometry.  And,  lastly,  the  work  of  the  teachers  in 
these  institutes  constituted  one  important  factor  in  the  ultimate 
selection  of  teachers.  What  has  been  said  of  this  course  in  general 
mathematics  was  equally  true  in  principle  of  each  of  the  other 


Of  163  places  reporting,  19  have  in  their  junior  high  schools 
teachers  specially  prepared  in  classes  locally  conducted. 
The  number  of  such  teachers  is  shown  in  Table  XXXIX 
Of  these  19  cities  or  towns  have  trained  all  of  their  teachers 
by  means  of  local  classes. 

The  growing  importance  of  the  junior  high  school  and  the 
educational  possibilities  in  it  have  led  a  number  of  univer- 
sities, colleges,  and  normal  schools  to  offer  courses  for  the 
special  preparation  of  administrators  and  teachers.  A  sum- 


230  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  XXXIX 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBER  OF  TEACHERS  IN  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 
SPECIALLY  PREPARED  IN  CLASSES  CONDUCTED  BY  THE  ClTY 
SYSTEM 

Number  of  teachers  Number  of  schools 

0  144 

IHI  10 

5-9  5 

10-14  1 

15-19  1 

20-24  2 

Total  163 

mary  of  the  courses  offered  may  be  found  in  Part  i  of  the 
Eighteenth  Year- Book  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of 
Education,  pp.  179-87. 

Three  of  the  Massachusetts  State  Normal  Schools  — 
Bridgewater,  Fitchburg,  and  Salem  —  began  in  1915  to  offer 
three-year  curricula  for  the  training  of  teachers  for  junior 
high  schools.  Stacy  outlined  a  proposed  curriculum  for 
normal  schools  in  Educational  Administration  and  Super- 
vision (vol.  2,  pp.  448-55),  and  developed  it  somewhat  fur- 
ther in  the  same  magazine  (vol.  3,  pp.  343-50).  His  curric- 
ulum includes: 

(1)  A  general  foundation  for  the  first  year,  (2)  specialized  work 
on  majors  and  general  work  on  minors  for  the  second  and  third 
years.  The  groups  we  have  adopted,  each  subject  in  a  group  being 
a  major,  are  these: 

1.  Geography,  history,  and  civics. 

2.  Geography,  science  (general). 

3.  Mathematics,  science. 

4.  English,  history,  and  civics. 

5.  English,  geography. 

6.  English,  a  modern  language. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  231 

7.  Special  combinations  of  any  of  the  above  subjects  with  gar- 
dening or  playground  activities  or  athletics. 

The  student  elects  one  group.  The  required  professional  studies, 
psychology,  school  management,  practice  teaching,  etc.,  are  also 
majors. 

Experience.  It  is  important  to  know  the  previous  experi- 
ence of  junior-high-school  teachers  as  well  as  their  training. 
Only  from  177  to  221  schools  furnished  replies  to  the  several 
questions  under  this  head;  and  unfortunately  there  are  not 
even  the  smaller  number  who  answer  all  of  the  five  questions. 

One  hundred  and  ninety-eight  schools  report  concerning 
the  number  of  teachers  who  have  come  to  them  without 
experience  directly  from  normal  schools.  One  hundred  and 
forty-one,  or  71.2  per  cent,  had  no  such  teachers;  54  had  1  to 
4;  and  three  had  5  to  9.  Two  hundred  and  thirteen  schools 
report  the  number  of  teachers  who  have  come  to  them  with- 
out experience  directly  from  college.  One  hundred,  or  47.0 
per  cent,  had  no  such  teachers;  110,  or  51.6  per  cent,  had  1  to 
4;  two  had  5  to  9;  and  one  had  25  to  29.  So  far  as  these 
answers  are  representative,  it  is  obvious  that  junior  high 
schools  draw  their  inexperienced  teachers  much  more  largely 
from  colleges  than  from  normal  schools;  but  an  examination 
of  the  complete  data  shows  that  the  proportion  of  inexperi- 
enced teachers  in  junior  high  schools  is  small.  Evidently, 
again,  administrators  place  their  confidence  for  pioneering 
in  teachers  whom  they  believe  successful  in  practical  work. 

Evenden  l  found  that  30  per  cent  of  intermediate  schools 
reporting  to  the  National  Education  Association  require 
one  year's  experience,  42  per  cent  require  two  years',  and 

1  Teachers'  Salaries  and  Salary  Schedules  in  the  United  States,  1918-19, 
p.  60. 


232  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

12  per  cent  require  three.  The  average  experience  of  473 
teachers  in  120  schools  was  7.5  years. 

Inasmuch  as  Los  Angeles  is  one  of  the  cities  in  which  the 
intermediate-school  teachers  were  early  put  on  the  high- 
school  salary  schedule,  it  is  interesting  to  consider  the  train- 
ing and  experience  of  the  teachers  there.  The  data  are  all 
derived  from  the  tables  given  in  the  Report  of  the  Advisory 
Committee  to  the  Board  of  Education  of  the  City  of  Los 
Angeles,  1916. 

Of  300  intermediate-school  teachers,  134  had  the  regular 
high-school  license,  and  146  had  a  special  high-school  license, 
which  was  issued  to  make  them  eligible  for  intermediate- 
school  work. 

Table  XL  shows  the  per  cent  of  1212  elementary -school 
teachers,  of  278  intermediate-school  teachers,  and  of  500 
high-school  teachers  in  Los  Angeles  who  had  attended  col- 
lege or  university  for  four  years  and  who  held  college  or 
university  degrees.  The  larger  percentage  holding  degrees 

TABLE  XL 

SHOWING  PER  CENTS  OF  Los  ANGELES  TEACHERS  ATTENDING 
COLLEGE  FOUR  YEARS  AND  HOLDING  DEGREES 

Elem.      Interm.        H.S. 

Attending  college  four  years 6.0        29 . 5        39 . 6 

Holding  degrees 8.9        43.5        68.4 

than  attending  college  four  years  is  presumably  due  to  the 
fact  that  a  number  of  degrees  were  secured  by  less  than  four 
years  of  study,  probably  supplemented  by  Saturday  and 
summer  sessions  and  correspondence  courses.  The  inferi- 
ority of  the  preparation  of  the  intermediate-school  teachers 
to  that  of  the  high-school  teachers  is  clearly  indicated  in  this 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  233 

table;  a  study  of  the  detailed  data,  however,  shows  that  it  is 
even  greater  than  here  appears,  inasmuch  as  the  high-school 
teachers  have  done  considerably  more  advanced  study  and 
hold  a  number  of  graduate  degrees. 

The  Los  Angeles  teachers  are,  with  the  exception  of  an 
all  but  negligible  fraction,  experienced;  and  the  amount  of 
experience  does  not  differ  materially  in  the  three  types  of 
schools,  the  median  in  each  group  being  10  to  15  years.  The 
distribution  is  shown  in  Table  XLI. 

TABLE  XLI 

SHOWING  BY  PER  CENTS  THE  AMOUNT  OF  EXPERIENCE  OF 
Los  ANGELES  TEACHERS 


Years  of 
experience 
i-1    . 

Elementary 
schools 
2.5 

Intermediate 
schools 
1   1 

High 
schools 
1  0 

2-3   

9.7 

7  5 

6  6 

3-5  

12  2 

10  8 

8  4 

5-10       

.      25  1 

26  3 

28  2 

10-15  

24  0 

24  1 

23  4 

15-25  

20.4 

27.7 

27  2 

Over  25.. 

7.0 

2.5 

5.2 

Medians.  .  .10  yrs.,  1.3  mo.     10  yrs.,  10.7  mo.     11  yrs.,  2.9  mo. 

Salaries.  A  comparison  of  the  intermediate-  and  high- 
school  teachers  in  Los  Angeles  as  to  salaries  is  given  in 
Table  XLII.  Although  the  median  salary  of  each  group  is 
the  same,  $1680,  the  average  of  the  high-school  salaries  is 
considerably  higher.  This  is  due  partly  to  the  fact  that,  as 
these  schools  have  been  established  longer,  more  of  their 
teachers  had  reached  the  advanced  steps  in  the  schedule,  and 
partly  to  the  inclusion  of  the  well-paid  heads  and  sub-heads 
of  departments. 


234 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


TABLE  XLII 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBERS  AND  PER  CENTS  OF  INTERMEDIATE-SCHOOL 
TEACHERS  AND  HIGH-SCHOOL  TEACHERS  RECEIVING  DIFFERENT 
SALARIES  IN  Los  ANGELES 


Grades  of  salary 

Numbers  receiving 

Per  cents  receiving 

Intermediate 
schools 

High 
schools 

Intermediate 
schools 

High 
schools 

$1200  

9 
12 
14 
16 
20 
17 
19 
15 
15 
141 
0 
0 

6 
12 
19 
19 
25 
33 
33 
23 
21 
255 
23 
30 

3.2 
4.3 
5.0 
5.8 
7.2 
6.1 
6.8 
5.4 
5.4 
50.7 
0.0 
0.0 

1.2 
2.4 
3.8 
3.8 
5.0 
6.6 
6.6 
4.6 
4.2 
51.0 
4.6 
6.0 

1260  

1320  

1380  

1440  

1500  

1560  

1600  

1640  

1680  

1740-2100  

2160  

Totals  

278 

499 

99.9 
$1680 

99.8 
$1680 

Median  salary 

The  Survey  Committee  recommended  that  the  academic 
standard  for  intermediate-school  teachers  be  raised.  It 
seemed  to  be  the  majority  opinion  of  the  Los  Angeles  school 
people  in  1917  that  the  former  superintendent  had  made  a 
mistake  in  placing  intermediate-school  teachers  on  the  high- 
school  salary  schedule  without  at  the  same  time  demanding 
the  full  requirements  for  high-school  certification. 

A  number  of  others  besides  Superintendent  Francis,  who 
established  intermediate  schools  at  Los  Angeles,  have  advo- 
cated with  cogent  arguments  that  teachers  of  the  new  type 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  235 

of  institution  should  be  put  on  the  same  salary  schedules  as 
high-school  teachers.  Typical  of  these  is  Gosling,  who, 
after  several  years'  experience  as  principal  of  a  junior  high 
school  at  Cincinnati  and  later  as  supervisor  in  Wisconsin, 
says: 

In  the  meantime  the  tendency  manifest  in  some  places  to  estab- 
lish a  salary  schedule  that  is  intermediate  between  the  schedule 
of  the  elementary  school  and  that  of  the  senior  high  school  is  to  be 
resisted  strongly,  because  it  not  only  fails  to  recognize  the  impor- 
tance of  the  junior  high  school  and  the  significant  contributions  of 
its  teachers  to  the  development  of  a  difficult  piece  of  work,  but  also 
it  strikes  at  the  stability  of  the  new  institution  by  the  subtle  sug- 
gestion to  teachers  that  they  may  regard  their  position  merely  as 
a  stepping-stone  to  the  safe  berth  and  the  higher  salary  which  the 
senior  high  school  offers.  In  other  words,  the  intermediate  salary 
created  a  condition  of  unstable  equilibrium,  whereas  fixedness, 
firmly  based  in  high  purposes  persistently  followed,  is  needed  to 
develop  the  junior  high  school  up  to  the  full  measure  of  its  possi- 
bilities.1 

Owing  to  the  difficulties  of  securing  accurate  and  com- 
plete information  by  means  of  a  questionnaire,  there  has 
been  no  attempt  to  make  a  study  of  the  relative  salaries  paid 
throughout  the  country  to  teachers  in  elementary,  inter- 
mediate, and  high  schools.  The  following  conclusions  are, 
however,  believed  to  be  generally  justified.  First,  in  a 
majority  of  genuine  junior  high  schools  the  teachers  are  paid 
somewhat  more  than  teachers  in  elementary  schools  and 
somewhat  less  than  those  in  the  high  school.  Second,  in  a 
smaller  number  of  junior  high  schools,  especially  in  those 
that  have  made  few  or  no  significant  changes,  the  salaries 
tend  to  be  the  same  as  those  paid  to  grammar-grade  teach- 

1  Tlie  Selection  and  Training  of  Teachers  for  Junior  High  Schools,  loc.  cit., 
p.  172. 


236  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

ers.  Third,  in  the  smallest  group  of  independently  organ- 
ized junior  high  schools  the  salaries  are  the  same  as  for 
teachers  in  the  senior  high  school. 

In  his  study  for  the  National  Education  Association, 
Evenden  found  the  median  salary  for  junior-high-school 
teachers  (392  cities  reporting)  to  be,  in  1918-19,  $951,  while 
the  medians  for  elementary-school  and  high-school  teachers 
were  $856  and  $1224  respectively.  Fifty  per  cent  of  the  jun- 
ior-high-school teachers  received  between  $768  and  $1134. 
The  wide  range  of  medians  for  cities  of  different  size  is  shown 
in  Table  XLIII.  The  geographical  range  is  from  $832  in  the 
Southern  States,  through  $962  in  the  Great  Plains,  to  $1000 
in  the  Far  West. 

TABLE  XLIII 

MEDIAN  SALARY  OF  JUNIOR-HIGH-SCHOOL  TEACHERS  IN  CITIES  OP 
VARIOUS  SIZES  (1918-19) 

Size  of  cities  Number  of  teachers      Median  salary 

More  than  100,000 421 

50,000-100,000 169 

25,000-50,000 487 

10,000-25,000 420 

5,000-10,000 380 

Under  5,000 309 

Total 2186 

Davis 1  reports  that  31.4  per  cent  of  the  junior  high  schools 
in  the  North  Central  territory  have  the  same  salary  schedule 
as  do  the  high  schools.  This  large  percentage  is  probably 
due  to  a  number  of  six-year  secondary  schools  in  which  the 
same  teachers  give  instruction  in  all  grades.  Almost  every 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  p.  328. 


TEACHERS  AND  SALARIES  237 

conceivable  practice  has  been  found.  The  simple  fact  is 
that  few  communities  have  been  willing  materially  to  in- 
crease the  salaries  of  teachers  for  the  intermediate  grades, 
on  reorganization,  even  though  there  be  apparent  need  and 
educational  advance  assured  by  so  doing. 


CHAPTER  IX 

THE  ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SCHEDULE  AND 
OF  CLASS  UNITS 

A.  LENGTH  OF  PERIOD,  OF  DAY,  AND  OF  WEEK 

THE  junior  high  school  has  resulted  in  a  material  increase  in 
the  length  of  class  period  for  pupils  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades.  The  median  length  of  period  for  277  junior  high 
schools  is  40  to  44  minutes/with  69.2  per  cent  of  the  schools 
having  periods  not  shorter  than  35  minutes  or  longer  than 
49.  Douglass  l  found  almost  the  same  conditions.  The 
median  length  of  period  for  149  junior  high  schools  reporting 
to  him  was  40  minutes,  with  59.7  per  cent  of  the  schools 
having  periods  not  shorter  than  35  minutes  or  longer  than  49. 

The  median  length  of  period  for  upper  grades  in  elemen- 
tary schools  of  198  places  is  30  to  34  minutes;  for  junior 
high  schools  in  277  places,  40  to  44  minutes;  and  for  high 
schools  in  228  places,  45  to  49  minutes.  The  complete  dis- 
tribution is  given  in  Table  XLIV. 

From  a  comparison  of  returns  from  165  school  systems 
that  have  been  reorganized,  it  is  found  that  in  11.5  per  cent 
of  the  places  the  junior  high  school  has  class  periods  of  the 
same  length  as  the  elementary  schools;  in  53.3  per  cent  of  the 
places,  it  has  periods  of  the  same  length  as  the  high  schools; 
in  6.7  per  cent  of  the  places  it  is  reported  to  have  periods 
even  longer  than  those  in  the  corresponding  high  schools, 

1  Part  ni,  Fifteenth  Year-Book  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of 
Education,  p.  98. 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SCHEDULE 


239 


TABLE  XLIV 

LENGTH  OF  PERIODS  IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  JUNIOR  HIGH 
SCHOOLS,  AND  SENIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 


Length  in  minutes 


No.  elementary     No.  junior 
schools          high  schools 


15-19 

20-24 

25-29 

30-34 

35-39 

40-44 

45-49 

50-54 

55-59 

60-64 

65-69 

70-74 

75-79 

80-84 

85-89 

90-94 

94-99 

Variable.  . 
Total. 


Medians . 


3 

33 

55 

66 

5 

13 

7 

5 

4 

3 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

__4 

T98 
30-34 


0 

0 

7 

31 

40 

113 

35 

13 

16 

18 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

0 

1 

0 

274 

40-44 


No.  senior 
high  schools 

0 

0 

0 

2 
14 
108 
56 
13 
14 
18 

1 

1 

0 

0 

1 

0 

0 

0 


45-49 


probably  because  of  supervised  study.  It  is  evident  that 
the  junior  high  school  is  increasing  the  length  of  class  period. 
The  junior  high  school  also  has  tended  to  lengthen  the 
school  day.  The  median  net  length  of  the  school  day  in 
elementary  schools  of  239  places  is  300  minutes;  that  for 
junior  high  schools  in  269  places  is  320  minutes;  and  that 
for  senior  high  schools  in  236  places  is  likewise  320  minutes. 
Only  14.5  per  cent  of  the  junior  high  schools  have  a  day  less 
than  the  median  length  for  elementary  schools,  300  minutes, 


240  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  XLV 

NET  LENGTH  OF  SCHOOL  DAY  IN  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOLS,  JUNIOR 
HIGH  SCHOOLS,  AND  SENIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Net  length  in  No.  elemen-    No.  junior      No.  senior 

minutes  tary  schools    high  schools    high  schools 

150 Ill 

200 1                   1                   3 

230 100 

240 4                   0                  2 

250 510 

260 634 

270 18                  6                 14 

280 39                 18                 14 

290 10                  9                  5 

300 81                 52                30 

810 20                31                 27 

320 7                20                23 

330 28                41                 38 

340 7                30                 18 

350 0                 15                 10 

360 8                30                29 

370 145 

380 1                   1                   0 

390 136 

400 012 

420 012 

450 Oil 

Variable _0_              _0_             __2 

Total 239              269              236 

Medians 300  320  320 

The  Springfield  study  found  that  in  73  junior  high  schools 
the  length  of  the  day,  presumably  including  lunch  periods 
and  intermissions,  ranges  from  300  to  450  minutes,  with  a 
median  at  345.  Of  55  schools,  most  of  them  in  session  less 
than  360  minutes,  31  think  the  day  should  be  longer.  The 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SCHEDULE         241 

report  states  that  "the  six-hour  (360-minute)  day  appar- 
ently is  most  satisfactory." 

The  complete  distribution  for  the  schools  of  this  study  is 
given  in  Table  XLV. 

From  205  systems  were  received  returns  as  to  the  normal 
length  in  minutes  (exclusive  of  lunch  period  and  recesses) 
in  elementary  schools,  junior  high  schools,  and  senior  high 
schools.  These  returns  show  that  in  27.3  per  cent  of  the 
205  places  the  junior  high  school  has  a  net  school  day  the 
same  as  its  elementary  schools;  in  63.9  per  cent  of  the  places 
it  has  a  day  of  the  same  length  as  the  high  schools;  and  in 
20  per  cent  of  the  places  it  has  a  day  even  longer  than  that 
of  the  high  schools.  The  junior  high  school,  then,  is  tending 
to  increase  the  length  of  the  school  day  for  pupils  of  early 
adolescence. 

The  number  of  periods  constituting  the  week's  work  was 
reported  by  265  junior  high  schools.  The  range  is  aston- 
ishingly large  —  from  approximately  500  minutes  to  the  al- 
most incredible  2880  minutes;  the  median  number  of  periods, 
of  whatever  length  they  may  be,  remains  almost  constant  at 
25  to  29.  40.5  per  cent  of  the  schools  have  fewer  than  25 
periods  a  week,  and  27.0  per  cent  have  more  than  29.  The 
Springfield  study,  found  in  67  junior  high  schools  that  the 
number  of  periods  ranges  from  20  to  45,  with  a  median  at  35. 

It  is  a  common  practice  to  assign  to  what  seem  to  be  the 
less  important  subjects  in  the  curriculum  fewer  than  five 
class  periods  a  week.  Whether  or  not  the  smaller  number 
of  meetings  represents  the  relative  importance  of  the  sub- 
jects seeking  a  place  in  the  school,  it  does  enable  a  princi- 
pal to  give  the  subjects  some  recognition  and  at  the  same 


342  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

time  make  a  program  that  extends  over  something  less  than 
twenty-four  hours  a  day.  An  objection  frequently  urged 
against  this  practice  is  that  much  time  is  lost  at  the  infre- 
quent meetings  in  the  warming-up  process.  Of  274  junior 
high  schools  reporting  on  this  topic,  209  (76  per  cent)  have 
classes  that  meet  less  often  than  four  times  a  week.  Of  the 
209,  only  197  report  as  to  whether  such  an  abbreviated  pro- 
gram for  a  subject  is  satisfactory;  145  (73.6  per  cent)  say 
that  it  is  satisfactory;  27  (13.7  per  cent)  say  that  it  is  partly 
satisfactory;  and  25  (12.7  per  cent)  say  that  it  is  unsatisfac- 
tory. Careful  measurement  should  be  made  of  the  amount 
learned  and  the  amount  retained  by  similar  pupils  in  the 
same  amount  of  time  differently  distributed.  The  mat- 
ter is  too  important  to  be  left  to  uncertain  "impressions." 

B.  SIZE  OF  CLASSES 

What  size  of  class  is  ideal  for  education  has  never  been 
determined,  though  on  the  basis  of  experience  principals  of 
elementary  schools  seek  to  limit  their  classes  to  approxi- 
mately 35  pupils.  In  high  schools  the  North  Central  Asso- 
ciation of  Colleges  and  Preparatory  Schools  recommends  as 
a  maximum  25  pupils  to  a  class  and  states  further  that  "no 
recitation  class  should  enroll  more  than  30  pupils."  These 
standards  are  very  generally  accepted.  From  an  adminis- 
trative point  of  view,  no  class  should  be  permitted  to  fall 
much  below  the  standard;  otherwise  the  per  capita  expense 
of  the  school  rapidly  mounts  up.  This  administrative  ideal 
becomes  more  and  more  impossible  of  attainment  as  the  size 
of  the  school  diminishes  or  as  the  number  of  electives  is  in- 
creased; therefore,  as  has  been  shown  elsewhere,  one  potent 


ADMINISTRATION  OF  THE  SCHEDULE 


243 


argument  for  the  junior  high  school  in  cities  is  that  in  it  may 
be  congregated  enough  pupils  to  be  more  or  less  evenly 
divided  by  the  normal  class  size  for  elective  subjects. 

For  our  study  a  large  number  of  junior-high-school  princi- 
pals recorded  the  number  of  their  classes  containing  1  to  9, 
10  to  14,  15  to  19,  etc.,  pupils,  while  others  gave  only  the 
average  number  of  pupils  per  class.  All  of  the  247  returns 
have  been  grouped  according  to  the  size  of  the  school,  and 
the  results,  in  Tables  XLVI  and  XL VII,  present  accord- 
ing to  the  enrollment  the  percentage  of  classes  in  165  junior 
high  schools  with  fewer  than  16  or  more  than  44  pupils. 

It  has  been  thought  unwise  to  make  a  statistical  study  of 
the  figures  in  these  tables,  the  organization  even  of  the 
schools  in  the  same  population  group  varying  so  widely.  It 

TABLE  XLVI 

SHOWING  THE  NUMBERS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  HAVING  VARI- 
OUS PER  CENTS  OF  CLASSES  WITH  MORE  THAN  44  PUPILS  IN  A 

CLASS  (165  SCHOOLS) 


Per 
cent 

,of 

classes 

Size  of  school  —  Number  of  pupils  enrolled 

Total 

1- 

99 

100- 
199 

200- 
299 

300- 
399 

400- 
409 

500- 
599 

600- 
699 

700- 
799 

800- 
899 

900- 
999 

1000- 
1099 

1100- 
1199 

1200- 
1299 

2000- 
2500 

0 
1-4 

5-9 
10-14 
15-19 
20-24 
25-29 
30-34 
100 

27 

'i 
i 

35 
5 

2 

2 

19 
3 
2 
1 
1 
1 

17 
2 

'i 

11 
2 

1 

6 
1 

V 

4 

V 
1 

4 

1 

V 

2 
1 

1 

1 

1 
1 
1 

1 

128 
17 
9 
5 
1 
3 

•• 

•• 

1 

•• 

1 
1 

i 

1 

Totals 

30 

44 

28 

20 

14 

8 

e 

5 

3 

' 

1 

3 

1 

iG5 

Table  to  be  read  as  follows:  Of  school <  having  enrollments  of  fewer  than  100  pupils  (1-99) 
27  had  no  classes  with  more  than  41  pupils,  1  had  from  five  to  nine  per  cent  jf  its  classes 
with  44  pupils  or  more  each,  etc. 


244 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 
TABLE  XLVH 


SHOWING  THE  NUMBERS  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  HAVING  VARI- 
OUS PER  CENTS  OF  CLASSES  WITH  FEWER  THAN  16  PUPILS  IN  A 

CLASS  (165  SCHOOLS) 


Per 

cent 

of 

classes 

Size  of  school  —  Number  of  pupils  enrolled 

Total 

1- 

99 

100- 
199 

200- 
299 

300- 
399 

400- 
499 

500- 
599 

600- 
699 

700- 
799 

800- 
899 

900- 
999 

1000- 
1099 

1100- 
1199 

1200- 
1299 

2000- 
2500 

0 
1-4 

5-9 
10-14 
15-19 
20-24 
25-29 
30-34 
36-39 
40-44 
45-49 
50-54 
55-59 
60-64 
65-69 
70-74 
75-79 
80-84 
85-89 
90-94 
85-99 
100 

9 

13 
1 

9 

4 

12 
1 

3 
1 

1 

1 
1 

1 

•  • 

1 

V 

2 

1 

52 
10 
24 
24 
7 
14 
7 
5 
3 
2 
1 
5 
1 

1 
1 

'3 
2 
2 

'i 

3 
1 

3 
9 
2 
6 

1 
2 
1 
2 

4 
3 
1 
2 
3 
1 
1 

2 
1 

2 
2 

4 
3 
2 

3 
3 

1 
3 

3 

1 
1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

1 

2 

1 
1 

1 

2 

1 

1 

1 

4 
30 

1 

5 

20 

8 

Totals 

44 

28 

14 

6 

4 

2 

2 

i 

1 

3 

1 

164 

Table  to  be  read  as  follows:  Of  schools  having  enrollments  of  fewer  than  100  pupils  (1-99) 
nine  had  no  classes  with  fewer  than  16  pupils  per  class,  one  school  had  from  five  to  nine  per 
cent  of  its  classes  with  fewer  than  16  pupils  each,  etc. 

is  very  near  meaningless  to  say  that  in  one  group  of  schools 
the  average  size  of  class  is  30  pupils,  the  entire  range  is  from 
10  to  47  pupils,  and  fifty  per  cent  of  all  the  classes  have  from 
21  to  38,  unless  at  the  same  time  are  given  the  curricula  of 
the  schools,  the  influences  working  for  and  against  each, 
the  subjects  that  have  classes  of  various  size,  etc.  From 
the  data  included  here  much  information  can  be  gained  to 
satisfy  students  of  several  phases  of  this  topic.  Therefore 
the  tables  are  presented  without  further  comment. 


CHAPTER  X 
SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL 

IT  has  been  generally  recognized  as  unfortunate  that  there 
is  frequently  at  the  beginning  of  the  high-school  period  a 
sharp  change  from  the  atmosphere  and  type  of  social  control 
found  in  the  elementary  grades.  To  remedy  this  is  one  of 
the  purposes  of  the  junior  high  school:  here,  it  is  argued, 
pupils,  similar  in  age  and  nearer  in  ideals  and  ambitions  to 
the  twelfth  grade  than  to  the  first,  will,  while  more  or  less 
segregated,  receive  a  treatment  more  suited  to  their  develop- 
ment; that  among  them  a  becoming  and  stimulating  spirit 
will  be  developed,  and  that  discipline  will  be  easier.  While 
changing  from  childhood  to  youth,  "  boys  and  girls  are  prone 
to  be  critical  of  their  elders,  yet  childlike  and  imitative. 
They  are  at  the  age  when  hero-worship  is  a  great  factor  in 
their  development."  x  Because  of  such  characteristics  it  is 
important  that  they  be  "kept  boys  and  girls  a  little  longer" 
somewhat  apart  from  the  dominating  influences  of  older 
youth,  and  thus  have  the  opportunity  to  develop  normally. 
They  will  need  extra-curricula  activities  suited  to  their 
age,  and  systematic,  personal,  educational,  and  vocational 
guidance. 

There  can  be  no  question  that  by  and  large  the  junior  high 

schools  are  paying  much  attention  to  the  needs  of  individual 

pupils  and  to  the  development  of  group  spirit.    The  success 

of  the  efforts  seems  to  result  from  the  selection  of  teachers 

1  Francis:  Elementary  School  Journal,  vol.  15,  p.  363. 


246  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

who  for  the  most  part  are  interested  in  boys  and  girls  of 
early  adolescence  and  who  are  able  to  sympathize  with  their 
demand  for  a  recognition  of  growing  personality  and  yet  to 
direct  it  rather  than  to  be  dominated  by  it.  It  may  be  the 
effect  somewhat  of  novelty,  but  a  pleasant  and  stimulat- 
ing spirit  pervades  the  junior  high  school.  Observation  in 
many  places  confirms  such  testimony  of  teachers  and  of 
principals  as  this  from  Superintendent  Hughes,  of  Chanute, 
Kansas:  "A  group  spirit  has  arisen  in  our  junior  high  school 
which  was  never  experienced  in  the  old  schools  of  eight 
grades."  r  Superintendent  Farmer,  of  Renville,  Minnesota, 
writes  that  he  has  just  as  good  discipline  and  order  as  before 
combining  grades  seven,  eight,  and  nine  in  two  rooms, 
besides  achieving  "a  real  development  of  democratic  initia- 
tive which  leads  to  the  cultivation  of  self-confidence  and 
resourcefulness. ' ' 

Profession  is  very  general  that  the  type  of  discipline  and 
control  in  junior  high  schools  is  midway  between  that  of  the 
elementary  grades  and  that  of  the  senior  high  school.  A 
typical  statement  is  that  by  Superintendent  Bostwick,  of 
Clinton,  Iowa: 

The  chief  of  the  advantages  is  that  the  pupils  in  this  building 
are  all  about  the  same  age,  the  one  class  just  closing  the  graded 
department  and  the  other  beginning  the  high  school,  making  the 
organization  and  interest  quite  close.  We  are  able  to  carry  out  a 
policy  in  the  management  of  the  school  which  is  midway  between 
the  rigid,  strict  disciplinary  management  of  the  graded  depart- 
ment on  the  one  hand,  and  the  greater  personal  liberty  policy  on 
the  other.  The  pupils  are  looked  after  more  closely  in  the  begin- 
ning stages  of  their  new  work  and  are  helped  and  supervised  more 
than  usual  in  their  new  studies. 

1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  1,  p.  617. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         247 

A  visitor  to  a  number  of  junior  high  schools  is  impressed 
that  this  ideal  is  general  and  that  it  is  to  a  large  extent 
successfully  carried  out.  There  are,  of  course,  junior  high 
schools  in  which  the  elementary-school  discipline  and  con- 
trol are  continued  even  through  the  ninth  grade,  thus  caus- 
ing the  same  embarrassment  of  adjustment  for  their  pupils 
when  they  are  transferred  to  a  higher  school;  and  there  are 
others  in  which  the  more  severe  discipline  and  control  of 
the  senior  high  school  is  sharply  introduced  at  the  beginning 
of  the  seventh  grade.  But  both  the  ideal  of  achieving  a 
middle  course  by  way  of  transition,  and  also  the  natural 
tendency  of  teachers  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  needs  and 
maturity  of  their  pupils,  tend  toward  a  gradation.  It  can 
hardly  be  denied  that  in  this  field  the  junior  high  school  is 
achieving  one  of  its  most  marked  successes. 

Numerous  schools  testify  to  the  fact  that  the  change  in 
discipline  cannot,  because  of  the  habits  of  teachers  and 
pupils,  be  immediately  made.  From  Cleveland  comes  this: 
"The  teachers  say  that  pupils  seem  to  find  it  rather  more 
difficult  to  adjust  themselves  to  the  different  kinds  of  recita- 
tion than  when  they  recited  to  the  same  teacher  in  all  sub- 
jects. So  far  as  conduct  goes,  if  all  the  teachers  are  strong 
there  is  no  more  disciplining  to  do  than  formerly.  The  little 
rest  in  passing  from  room  to  room  and  the  contact  with 
different  personalities  seem  conducive  to  greater  harmony 
in  class."  And  Norfolk,  Nebraska,  reports  that  "discipline 
was  harder  at  first  until  the  pupils  became  used  to  it."  Such 
reports  are  wholesome  evidence  that  in  junior  high  schools  a 
change  is  made  from  the  type  of  administration  in  the  ele- 
mentary grades;  and  the  probability  is  that  because  of  the 


248  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

emphasis  on  individual  needs  for  guidance,  the  adjustment 
is  better  taken  care  of  both  here  and  when  the  pupils  go  on 
to  the  senior  high  school  than  under  the  old  plan. 

Of  the  293  junior  high  schools  in  the  North  Central  Terri- 
tory, 65.9  per  cent  reported  to  Davis  l  that  their  principles 
of  discipline  were  freer  than  in  the  elementary  schools,  and 
50.5  per  cent  reported  that  their  principles  of  discipline  were 
less  free  than  in  the  senior  high  school.  These  figures  bear 
out  the  statement  that  the  majority  of  junior  high  schools 
are  attempting  an  intermediate  type  of  control. 

Of  259  junior  high  schools  that  answered  for  this  study  the 
question  "Is  discipline  easier  or  harder  than  under  the  old 
organization?"  186,  or  71.8  per  cent,  say  that  it  is  easier; 
32,  or  12.3  per  cent,  say  that  it  is  harder;  34,  or  13.1  per  cent, 
say  there  is  not  much  difference;  four  have  no  difficulty;  and 
three  state  that  the  discipline  is  harder  in  the  seventh  grade 
and  easier  in  the  eighth  and  ninth. 

Self-government.  A  great  deal  has  been  written  of 
adolescence  and  its  characteristics,2  but  a  complete,  syste- 
matic translation  of  erudite  studies  into  everyday  practice 
remains  to  be  made.  Such  adaptations  of  school  govern- 
ment as  exist  seem  based  primarily  on  common  sense  and 
sympathy.  Although  adolescence  has  been  shown  to  come 
on  gradually,  beginning  at  different  ages  for  different  indi- 
viduals, both  science  and  common-sense  judgments  agree 
that  there  is  need  of  special  care  for  the  boy  and  girl  in  this 
period,  "the  most  unlovely  and  yet  the  most  in  need  of 

1  School  Review,  vol.  26,  p.  328. 

1  See  especially  Hall:  Adolescence,  2  vols.;  Whipple,  chap,  vi  in  Monroe's 
Principles  of  Secondary  Education;  and  Inglis,  chaps,  i-n  in  his  Principles  of 
Secondary  Education. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL        249 

love."  Segregation  permits  and  encourages  provisions  for 
the  peculiar  characteristics  of  the  child  who,  more  rapidly 
than  his  elders  usually  appreciate,  is  developing  a  sense  of  his 
own  importance  and  a  desire  for  initiative  and  self-control. 
In  the  junior  high  school  without  the  undue  influence  of 
older  youth  he  can  gradually  be  granted  privileges  as  he 
develops  responsibility  and  under  guidance  prepared  better 
for  self-control.  A  supporting  analogy  in  provision  for 
gradual  adjustment  of  groups  to  new  privileges  is  found  in 
the  Harvard  dormitories  for  freshmen,  and  in  the  close  over- 
sight provided  for  incoming  students  at  Chicago,  Columbia, 
and  a  number  of  our  other  great  universities. 

Complete  self-government,  as  every  one  knows,  is  really 
non-existent  in  any  secondary  school.  Pupils  of  this  age 
are  not  competent,  nor  should  one  expect  them  to  be,  en- 
tirely to  control  either  themselves  or  others.  But  this  does 
not  mean  that  partial  and  a  gradually  increasing  amount  of 
self-government  is  not  desirable;  indeed,  it  is  difficult  to  see 
how  any  one  can  effectively  be  taught  an  intelligent  leader- 
ship of  others  or  control  of  himself  without  directed  practice. 
Some  form  of  self-government  has  been  observed  in  a  num- 
ber of  junior  high  schools;  so  far  as  could  be  told  by  a  brief 
inspection  the  report  of  the  principal  that  it  works  more  or 
less  well  is  confirmed.  The  degree  of  success  is  determined 
chiefly  by  the  interest,  the  close  attention,  the  wisdom,  and 
the  personality  of  the  adult  furnishing  the  oversight. 

The  criterion  of  the  ultimate  worth  of  any  plans  of  pupil 
government  is  the  conduct  of  the  individuals  on  the  streets, 
in  the  homes,  and  in  higher  schools  or  business.  If  there  it  is 
unaffected  by  the  practice  in  classrooms  or  if  it  is  automatic 


250  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

but  unintelligent  obedience  to  all  kinds  of  "authority,"  the 
schools  have  largely  failed  in  their  work,  whatever  of  facts 
and  figures  they  may  have  taught. 

In  one  junior  high  school  in  New  York  City  a  modified 
form  of  self-government  was  undertaken  with  the  purpose  of 
affecting  both  immediately  and  ultimately  the  conduct  of 
the  pupils  in  their  lives  outside  the  school.  The  inculcation 
of  ideals,  the  opportunities  for  self-control  and  leadership, 
and  the  habits  of  intelligent  cooperation  were  sought 
through  the  organization  of  the  pupils  into  groups,  each  one 
directed  by  an  elected  leader  who  had  previously  qualified 
himself  by  meeting  certain  standards  that  the  boys  had  set 
up.  The  program  for  each  group  was  worked  out  in  a 
Leaders'  Club,  with  which  one  or  more  of  the  teachers  con- 
stantly advised.1  The  results  of  this  directed  organization 
showed  itself  in  the  school,  in  the  outside  play,  and  in  the 
higher  schools  and  work  which  after  graduation  the  pupils 
entered.  There  was  so  much  loyalty  to  the  ideals  developed 
that  for  several  years  afterward  the  boys  returned  to  regular 
and  frequent  alumni  meetings  for  the  purpose  of  adapting 
the  "creed"  to  their  new  conditions  and  of  helping  each 
other  better  live  up  to  it. 

The  achievements  of  the  boys  who  entered  the  city  high 
schools  were  on  the  whole  highly  satisfactory,  in  that  they 
adjusted  themselves  quickly  and  easily  to  the  form  of  admin- 
istration there,  entered  vigorously  into  the  extra-curricula 
activities,  and  attempted  to  carry  on  their  habits  of  initia- 
tion and  leadership.  Unfortunately,  a  few  individual  high- 

1  SeeFretwell:  "An  Experiment  in  Democracy,"  Teachers  College  Record, 
vol.  20,  pp.  324-52. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         251 

school  teachers,  as  perhaps  would  happen  anywhere,  ridi- 
culed these  attempts  and  discouraged  anything  except  obedi- 
ence to  explicit  directions  emanating  from  themselves.  This 
leads  to  the  suggestion  that  any  plan  of  socialization  at- 
tempted in  the  intermediate  school  should  be  extended  to 
include  the  teachers  in  higher  schools  who  may  later  have 
charge  of  the  pupils.  To  insure  success,  both  the  articulat- 
ing intermediate  school  and  the  high  school  should  have 
similar  ideals  of  social  control. 

Of  the  self-government  in  Los  Angeles,  Superintendent 
Francis  wrote: l 

The  grouping  together  of  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades 
has  placed  in  one  school  boys  and  girls  of  about  the  same  age, 
tastes,  and  interests.  This  has  made  possible  some  form  of  student 
government  in  each  school  whereby  students  assume  control  of 
various  activities  under  their  own  officers  and  student  administra- 
tion. The  policy  here  stated  is  in  line  with  the  present-day  feeling 
that  if  our  democracy  is  to  prosper,  the  beginnings  must  be  laid  in 
the  public  school,  and  students  must  early  be  taught  the  duties  and 
responsibilities  that  fall  upon  the  individual  in  a  democracy.  The 
adolescent  child  is  at  a  most  impressionable  age,  and  the  ideals 
developed  at  this  time  are  enduring  in  character. 

All  of  the  intermediate  schools  have  placed  certain  phases  of 
school  administration  and  school  activity  under  student  control, 
differing  in  each  locality  according  to  the  varying  conditions  that 
are  encountered.  It  is  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  there  has 
arisen  in  pupils  a  better  attitude  toward  school,  and  a  greater  de- 
sire to  cooperate  in  those  things  that  make  for  a  more  wholesome 
school  atmosphere. 

Of  the  plan  used  in  the  Latimer  Junior  High  School  in 
Pittsburgh,  Principal  Graham  makes  the  following  state- 
ment: 

1  Elementary  School  Journal,  vol.  15,  p.  371. 


252  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

One  of  the  features  of  our  school  which  we  believe  to  be  well 
worth  while,  is  the  organization  this  year  of  student  government. 
Early  in  the  term  each  report  class  elected  a  representative  to  the 
student  organization,  which  in  turn  elected  a  president,  vice-presi- 
dent, and  secretary,  and  six  additional  members  of  a  council  of 
nine.  This  body  is  known  as  the  "School  Council,"  and  with  the 
guidance  of  the  principal  attempts  to  guide  and  in  a  measure  con- 
trol all  student  activities  and  foster  a  healthy  school  sentiment. 
The  organization  has  met  with  a  fair  measure  of  success.  It  has 
done  much  to  make  the  handling  of  the  students  easier  during  the 
lunch  period  and  passing  to  and  fro  from  classes,  as  well  as  keeping 
order  during  the  chapel  exercises;  and  in  a  few  cases  the  Council 
has  tried  offenders  against  school  society,  and  has  then  acted  in  an 
advisory  capacity  to  the  principal  in  inflicting  punishment.  On 
the  whole  the  student  organization  seems  to  be  quite  successful  in 
our  junior  high  school. 

At  Richmond,  Indiana,  there  is  a  representative  com- 
mitee  of  pupils  forming  a  pupil  council  that  acts  with  the 
principal  in  behalf  of  the  entire  student  body;  and  all  vis- 
itors to  the  Washington  Junior  High  School  at  Rochester, 
New  York,  have  been  impressed  by  the  provisions  that  the 
pupils  have  made  both  for  their  own  conduct  and  for  the 
comfort  and  convenience  of  others. 

Of  the  schools  reporting  on  the  topic  for  this  study,  only 
one  pretends  to  have  a  system  of  f ull  self-government  by  the 
pupils,  and  101  others  profess  to  have  partial  self-govern- 
ment. There  is  no  way  of  telling  what  this  means.  It  is 
probable  that  not  so  many  as  one  hundred  have  what  would 
be  recognized  as  self-government  as  the  term  is  ordinarily 
used,  for  this  requires  unusual  ability  and  constant  hard 
work  on  the  part  of  the  teachers  in  charge;  however,  ob- 
servation and  inquiry  lead  one  to  assert  with  a  high  degree 
of  confidence  that  responsibility  is  gradually  extended  to  the 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         253 

pupils  in  intermediate  schools,  according  to  their  abilities 
to  assume  it,  and  that  an  effort  is  widely  made  to  encourage 
initiation,  social  cooperation  with  others,  and  self-control. 

Guidance.  It  is  a  commonplace  to  say  that  every  pupil 
should  have  in  school  a  gradually  decreasing  amount  of 
control  and  guidance  until  he  becomes  at  leaving  time  the- 
oretically capable  of  self-direction.  In  the  ordinary  school 
a  pupil  notably  bad,  notably  studious,  notably  clever  at 
some  specialty,  notably  rich  or  poor,  notably  handsome  or 
ugly,  is  likely  to  receive  fortuitous  attention  and  incidental 
guidance;  the  demand  is,  however,  that  this  aid  be  provided 
for  every  individual.  Of  course,  because  of  home  conditions, 
some  pupils  will  need  much  more  than  others  the  help  of 
teachers  outside  of  their  classes.  The  democratic  school 
undertakes  to  equalize  opportunities,  and  to  achieve  this 
end  it  must  afford  help  according  to  the  needs  of  pupils 
both  inside  and  outside  the  regular  curriculum. 

The  importance  of  guidance,  both  personal  and  educa- 
tional, increases  with  the  departmentalization  of  instruc- 
tion. In  order  that  the  individual  pupil  may  not  be  neg- 
lected by  his  several  teachers,  it  has  seemed  not  only  wise, 
but  actually  imperative,  that  some  adult  be  appointed  his 
adviser.  Superintendent  Stout,  of  Topeka,  Kansas,  argues 
cogently  that  this  adviser  should  not  be  a  teacher  of  the 
pupil  in  any  class,  for  the  relation  of  teacher-pupil  very  fre- 
quently prevents  the  close  confidences  that  otherwise  may 
develop.  Dr.  Gosling,  formerly  of  Cincinnati,  and  many 
others  emphasize  the  importance  of  this  friendly  relation. 
Not  all  principals  who  accept  the  ideal  have  felt  it  neces- 
sary, however,  to  appoint  an  adviser  who  is  not  also  a 


254  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

teacher  of  the  pupil.  Principal  Rorem,1  of  Sioux  City, 
writes  that  he  has 

a  home-room  system  whereby  the  teacher  of  each  room  of  the  first 
period  in  the  morning  holds  the  pupils  responsible  for  conduct, 
attendance,  study,  and  general  attitude  throughout  the  day  and 
out  of  class.  This  teacher  is  expected  to  be  the  guide,  adviser,  and 
friend  to  whom  the  pupil  may  come  at  any  time  on  any  pretext  or 
need.  While  the  home-room  is  primarily  a  part  of  the  disciplinary 
organization,  it  has  become  inspirational  and  directive.  Welfare 
Period,  thirty  minutes  in  length,  is  conducted  every  Wednesday 
in  the  home-room.  At  this  tune  the  pupils  are  permitted  to  engage 
in  any  kind  of  activity,  entertainment,  or  fun  which  meets  the 
approval  of  the  teacher.  The  games,  jokes,  debates,  parties,  funny 
stories,  programs,  current  events,  knitting,  thrift  campaigns,  Red 
Cross  work,  parliamentary  drills,  elections,  curio  studies,  and  gen- 
eral good  tunes  have  done  much  to  bring  about  a  comradeship 
between  the  teacher  and  pupils.  The  home-room  teacher  is  the 
embodiment  of  the  social,  moral,  civic,  and  educational  guidance. 

In  practically  every  place  where  the  advisory  system  is 
used,  the  teacher  in  charge  of  a  pupil  is  expected  to  ascer- 
tain as  much  as  possible  about  the  home  conditions,  the  life 
history,  present  state  of  health,  and  habits  of  play,  work, 
and  study  of  each  pupil  in  his  charge.  In  many  places  — 
for  example,  Holstein,  Iowa;  Los  Angeles,  California;  and 
Renville,  Minnesota  —  these  data  are  kept  on  special  cards 
which  are  transferred  to  other  advisers  with  the  pupil. 
Berkeley,  California,  endeavors  to  keep  a  pupil  with  the 
same  adviser  for  a  year  and  a  half  to  two  years.  "Our  teach- 
ing force  is  constant,"  writes  the  principal  of  the  Luther 
Burbank  School;  "hence  all  old  families  are  known  and  new 
ones  are  given  particular  attention  by  the  adviser  on  their 
arrival  in  the  neighborhood."  At  Gary,  Indiana,  an  ad- 
1  School  Review,  vol.  27.  p.  53, 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         255 

viser  is  assigned  to  a  particular  section  of  the  city,  so  that 
he  may  cumulate  information  about  the  living  conditions, 
the  environments,  and  any  other  phases  of  life  that  may 
affect  the  children.  This  plan  is  doubtless  wise  in  a  city  of 
congested  and  shifting  population,  but  it  seems  far  better 
in  other  types  of  cities  for  an  adviser  to  have  a  group  homo- 
geneous in  respect  to  age  and  interests.  Of  course,  when- 
ever the  duties  of  advising  pupils  are  added  to  those  of  in- 
struction, time  should  be  provided  in  the  schedule  for  them. 
Such  provision  is  made  in  Los  Angeles  and  other  places. 

An  attempt  was  made  to  ascertain  whom  the  schools  use 
as  advisers.  Of  the  232  junior  high  schools  reporting,  more 
than  one  third  use  the  regular  classroom  (session  room, 
registration)  teacher.  Nearly  one  fifth  have  some  one  not 

TABLE  XLVIII 
SHOWING  WHOM  232  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS  USE  AS  ADVISERS 

Nobody 41 

Parents 3 

Superintendent 14 

Special  supervisors 3 

Attendance  worker 1 

Registrar 1 

All  teachers 26 

Former  elementary -school  teacher 2 

Head  of  department 2 

Class  teacher 80 

Language  teacher 1 

Physical  instructor 1 

Class  adviser 49 

Study-hall  teacher 1 

Sponsor 5 

Teacher  of  vocational  discovery 1 

Vocational  counselor 1 

232 


256  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

a  teacher  of  the  pupils;  the  others  are  widely  scattered  as 
will  be  seen  in  Table  XL VIII,  which  shows  whom  232 
junior  high  schools  use  as  advisers. 

Educational  guidance.  Wherever  opportunities  for  elec- 
tion of  curricula  or  of  courses  are  offered,  there  should  be  a 
concomitant  preparation,  for  the  whole  system  in  secondary 
schools  is  based  on  the  assumption  of  an  intelligent  and  an 
informed  electorate.  Several  inquiries  have  shown  in  pupils 
a  profound  ignorance  concerning  the  contents  and  the  pos- 
sibilities of  the  curricula  among  which  they  are  forced  to 
elect.  The  Lincoln  School  of  Los  Angeles  begins  prepara- 
tion for  election  before  the  pupils  are  transferred  from  the 
sixth  grade.  The  principal,  Miss  Andrus,  sends  to  the 
elementary  schools,  shortly  before  the  period  of  transfer, 
teachers  from  her  corps  and  representative  pupils,  who  ex- 
plain the  curricula  and  the  general  plan  of  the  intermedi- 
ate school.  The  prospective  graduates  of  the  elementary 
schools  are  urged  to  spend  a  day  at  the  Lincoln  School  get- 
ting acquainted  with  the  general  plan  which  is  offered  them. 
On  the  basis  of  such  preparation  the  pupils  make  out  a  ten- 
tative program  which  is  used  for  the  first  five  weeks.  During 
this  time  a  study  of  the  pupils'  interests  and  aptitudes  is 
made  by  the  various  teachers,  and  on  the  basis  of  the  con- 
clusions reached,  modifications  in  the  program  are  made. 

Parents  usually  need  information  and  guidance  quite  as 
truly  as  do  their  children.  In  some  cities  —  for  example 
Anderson,  Indiana  —  the  parents  are  invited  to  the  junior 
high  school  before  the  opening  of  a  term.  There  they  have 
explained  to  them  the  curricula,  and  questions  are  invited. 
After  they  have  sent  in  registration  cards  for  their  children 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         257 

with  data  concerning  life  history,  these  are  carefully  studied 
together  with  the  records  that  the  pupils  have  made  in  the 
elementary  grades;  and  in  the  light  of  the  results,  elections 
are  approved  or  disapproved.  In  Hibbing,  Minnesota,  and 
in  many  other  places,  an  attempt  is  made  to  formulate  each 
pupil's  program  only  after  a  conference  between  the  parents, 
the  pupil,  and  the  principal. 

Finally,  pupils  in  junior  high  schools  are  occasionally, 
though  much  less  often  than  the  situation  demands,  advised 
systematically  as  to  the  electives  open  to  them  in  the  sen-  ,. 
ior  high  school.  In  Kalamazoo,  Principal  Starkweather 
made  provision  to  insure  that  each  pupil  be  informed  as  to 
what  he  can  study  in  the  high  school,  and  as  to  what  such 
a  curriculum  will  lead.  Similar  provision,  as  will  be  shown 
later,  has  been  made  in  "life-career  classes." 

The  tendency  toward  forming  homogeneous  groups  of 
pupils  according  to  their  ability  to  learn  is  apparently  strong. 
Schools  for  a  long  time  have  permitted  certain  elections  or 
an  additional  subject  in  the  program  for  pupils  who  had 
done  unusually  well  in  their  previous  year.  At  the  Speyer 
School,  New  York  City,  an  attempt  has  for  several  years 
been  made  to  secure  homogeneity  in  ability  by  means  of 
standardized  psychological  and  educational  tests.  Changes 
from  group  to  group  are  permitted  whenever  the  teachers 
agree  that  a  pupil  is  better  or  poorer  than  some  other  one  in 
another  section.  The  teachers  are  encouraged  to  carry  each 
group  at  its  optimum  pace,  and  for  each  pupil  there  is  pro- 
vided personal  guidance  by  a  teacher,  supplemented  by  a 
system  of  oversight  and  aids  from  members  of  the  "Lead- 
ers' Club."  The  result  is  that  some  pupils  are  able  to  ac- 


258  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

complish  three  years'  work  in  two;  others  make  normal 
progress;  and  those  not  gifted  intellectually  are  carried  as 
fast  as  they  can  go,  with  such  adaptation  in  subject-matter 
and  in  methods  as  they  need.  A  similar  plan  of  homo- 
geneous grouping  has  been  extended  to  include  thousands 
of  intermediate-school  children  throughout  New  York  City. 
The  homogeneous  grouping  of  pupils  is  likely  to  be  made 
easier  by  the  tests  recently  standardized,  especially  those 
by  the  Council  of  National  Defense. 

Some  cities  have  devised  extensive  record  cards  in  an 
effort  to  ascertain  the  particular  fitness  of  pupils.  Vin- 
cennes,  Indiana,  for  example,  uses  from  the  beginning  of  the 
elementary  school  a  card  on  which  each  teacher  enters  her 
estimate  of  the  pupil  as  to  qualities  like  attentiveness  or 
inattentiveness,  boldness  or  bashfulness,  enthusiasm  or  in- 
difference, and  as  to  whether  he  is  a  leader  or  follower, 
original  or  imitative,  brilliant  or  a  plodder,  etc.;  and  at 
Mount  Vernon,  New  York,  Principal  Palmer,  of  the  Sophie 
J.  Mee  School,  has  devised  a  series  of  questions  to  guide 
in  the  approval  of  the  pupil's  election  of  any  curriculum. 
The  questions  concerning  the  academic  curriculum,  for 
example,  are:  "Is  the  pupil  a  good  scholar?  Is  he  interested 
in  books  and  work  of  a  research  nature?  Is  he  persevering? 
Has  he  good  power  of  concentration?  Is  he  ambitious  for 
some  professional  career?  Is  he  scientifically  inclined?  Is 
there  strong  probability  of  his  being  able  to  continue  long  in 
school?  to  attend  the  high  school?  to  attend  college?"  It 
is  not  known  to  what  extent  these  devices  are  effective. 
They  are  likely,  however,  to  call  the  attention  of  the  ad- 
viser to  traits  which  otherwise  might  be  overlooked. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL        259 

In  Mankato,  Minnesota,  all  the  teachers  of  any  pupil 
make  monthly  reports  to  his  adviser  as  to  his  effort,  prog- 
ress, and  conduct.  This  adviser  confers  directly  with  par- 
ents, taking  to  the  principal  only  such  cases  as  need  his 
particular  attention.  Regular  conference  hours  are  provided 
every  week  in  such  schools  as  those  at  Radcliffe,  Iowa,  and 
the  Bloom  Junior  High  School,  Cincinnati,  periods  in  which 
pupils  may  consult  with  their  advisers  or  with  any  teachers 
whom  they  wish  to  see  about  their  work.  Testimony  is  very 
general  that  pupils  in  junior  high  schools  with  advisory 
systems  are  looked  after  much  more  closely  than  they  are  in 
the  ordinary  high  school. 

Vocational  guidance.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact  that  a  large 
percentage  of  boys  and  girls  leave  our  schools  either  im- 
mediately at  or  shortly  after  the  termination  of  the  period 
of  compulsory  education.  What  these  young  people  do, 
their  successes  and  future  careers,  are  becoming  more  and 
more  recognized  as  the  concern  of  the  schools.  It  is  gener- 
ally recognized  that  pupils  who  leave  school  at  the  age  of 
fourteen  or  fifteen  seldom  enter  into  an  apprenticeship,  but 
either  go  into  some  office  or  industry,  expecting  vaguely  to 
"learn  the  business,"  or  they  secure  positions  of  temporary 
character  usually  characterized  as  "blind-alley  jobs." 

It  has  been  shown  that  the  working  child  under  sixteen  is  usually 
in  a  "blind-alley"  occupation  —  often  a  mere  errand  boy  —  and 
finds  himself  several  years  later  with  no  worthy  calling  and  no 
preparation  for  any.  Other  disadvantages  in  children's  work  are 
the  necessity  for  their  hunting  work  (this  is  especially  to  be  re- 
gretted in  the  case  of  young  girls),  the  seasonal  character  of  much 
of  the  work  for  the  young,  the  difficulties  due  to  inefficiency  and 
misunderstandings,  and  the  wandering  from  job  to  job  in  the  vain 
hope  that  better  conditions  of  employment  will  be  found.  En- 


260  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

lightened  employers  as  well  as  educational  investigators  seem  to 
have  arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  neither  industry  nor  commerce 
needs  the  services  of  children  under  sixteen,  and  that  their  place 
is  in  the  school.1 

Lewis  2  showed  that  in  two  years  after  leaving  school  the 
average  Iowa  boy  passes  through  three  jobs: 

The  most  common  method  followed  by  boys  in  learning  a  voca- 
tion is  a  trial  and  success  method.  They  try  this  and  that  pursuit 
to  see  whether  they  are  suited  to  it  or  it  suited  to  them.  But  no 
elaborate  system  of  vocational  schools  would  entirely  eliminate 
this  method  of  learning  vocations.  It  might  succeed  in  reducing 
and  eliminating  some  of  the  waste  resulting  from  the  present 
system. 

How  does  the  young  boy  or  girl  secure  his  position  — 
with  his  eyes  open  as  to  the  possibilities  in  and  beyond  the 
job?  with  the  assistance  and  guidance  of  those  who  know 
more  than  he?,  or  by  his  own  undirected  or  fortuitously 
aided  initiative? 

.  .  .  Usually  in  this  country  the  burden  of  finding  employment 
falls  upon  the  individual.  The  cities  and  States  of  America  do  not 
have  well-organized  systems  of  employment  bureaus  for  the  pur- 
pose of  adjusting  either  juvenile  or  adult  laborer  to  employer.  The 
boys  as  they  leave  school  to  go  to  work  are  for  the  most  part  thrown 
upon  their  own  resources  as  is  shown  by  the  results  of  this  investiga- 
tion. More  than  85  per  cent  of  the  jobs  were  found  by  the  boys 
hawking  for  them.  The  remaining  jobs  were  found  hi  the  follow- 
ing ways: 

92  by  answering  an  advertisement 
57  through  assistance  of  parents 
55  through  assistance  of  friends 
1  through  teacher  in  public  school 
1  by  being  asked  by  an  employer. 

1  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  vol.  67, 
pp.  60-61. 


Lewis,  Ervin  E.:  Work,  Wages,  and  Schooling  of  800  Iowa  Boys. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL        261 

Apparently  the  teacher  does  not  attempt  to  assist  these  boys  in 
securing  work.  Nor  are  their  friends,  relatives,  and  parents  of 
very  great  assistance.  The  majority  of  the  boys  find  work  for 
themselves.  It  seemed  not  to  be  considered  the  business  of  any 
social  agency  other  than  the  public  school  accurately  to  inform 
such  boys  concerning  the  occupations  open  to  them.  No  literature 
is  handed  them  concerning  desirable  vocations,  and  apparently  no 
advice  is  offered  them  regarding  unskilled,  semi-skilled,  or  highly 
skilled  employments.  They  are  not  told  about  the  "blind-alley" 
jobs.  No  one  looks  after  them  systematically,  following  them 
from  the  door  of  the  schoolroom  into  the  jobs  which  necessity  or 
choice  causes  them  to  accept.  They  find  their  own  jobs  and  take 
the  jobs  that  they  can  find  quickly.  These  boys  studied  are  there- 
fore fair  examples  of  what  happens  in  the  absence  of  vocational 
guidance.  What  might  have  happened  if  careful  vocational  guid- 
ance and  supervision  had  been  provided  can  only  be  inferred.  It 
is  safe  to  guess  that  the  percentage  of  those  entering  and  remaining 
in  unskilled  and  low-grade  skilled  occupations  would  have  been 
greatly  decreased,  and  also  that  the  "fetching  and  carrying"  occu- 
pations —  in  which  the  chief  duty  is  to  wait  upon  the  casual  needs 
of  others  —  would  have  been  avoided  to  a  much  greater  degree.1 

The  school  is  being  called  on  to  afford,  to  the  boy  and 
girl  approaching  the  end  of  their  period  of  compulsory 
education,  information  that  may  result  in  their  remaining 
longer  in  school,  in  their  working  more  definitely  toward 
some  worthy  position,  and  in  preventing  their  entrance 
upon  work  that  will  leave  them  both  intellectually  and  pro- 
fessionally on  no  higher  level  than  the  one  on  which  they 
entered.  It  is  often  objected  that  the  school  cannot  give 
infallible  guidance  toward  a  vocation,  but  it  certainly  should 
be  able  to  compete  successfully  with  the  "suggestions  of  the 
street,  .  .  .  uncritical  information  about  the  successes  of 
others,  incidental  suggestions  of  relatives  or  of  child  com- 

1  Lewis:  Loc.  tit. 


262  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

panions,  newspaper  and  magazine  advertisements  of  doubt- 
ful veracity." 

According  to  Brewer l  vocational  guidance  has  as  its  aim 
not  only  aid  to  the  boy  and  girl  in  solving  their  own  problems 
of  immediate  work,  but  also  the  larger  end  of  spreading 
"knowledge  of  occupational  problems  throughout  society  in 
such  a  way  as  to  help  in  solving  fundamental  social  and 
civic  questions." 

Field 2  thinks  that  "  it  is  not  so  important  either  that  the 
child  shall  select  at  this  early  age  the  exact  vocation  which 
he  will  later  follow,  as  it  is  for  the  child  to  have  a  vocational 
aim  which  will  act  as  an  educational  incentive." 

In  the  formulation  of  a  plan  for  vocational  guidance,  it 
is  imperative  that  certain  mistakes  be  avoided.  These  are 
classified  by  Cohen  3  as  follows: 

1.  As  to  the  ends  sought,  it  must  not  be  accepted  that  educa- 
tional guidance  is  a  panacea,  destined  to  remove  all  social  and 
moral  ailments.     We  must  proceed  cautiously  in  evaluating  the 
many  schemes,  sifting  the  extravagant  claims  of  extremists,  and 
rejecting  much  that  is  weak. 

2.  In  our  enthusiasm,  let  us  not  make  educational  guidance  an 
end  in  itself.    We  should  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  it  is  merely 
a  means  for  producing  contented  and  efficient  members  of  society 
by  assisting  and  advising  them  in  their  selection  of  a  career. 

3.  The  discovery  of  aptitudes  must  always  be  a  slow,  natural 
process.     It  should  not,  with  the  best  of  intentions,  be  forced  or 
hastened  through  "hot-house"  methods.     Short  cuts  have  no 
place  in  this  process. 

4.  The  guidance  by  parents  and  teachers  must  be  real  assistance 
and  direction.     The  temptation  to  use  authority  and  influence 

1  School  and  Society,  vol.  6,  pp.  541-45. 

*  Ibid.,  vol.  3,  p.  871. 

1  Cohen,  I.  David:  Vocational  and  Educational  Guidance  in  the  School. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         263 

must  be  resisted  lest  the  initiative  of  the  pupil  be  deadened,  and  a 
choice  be  forced  upon  the  pupil  which  will  not  be  for  his  best 
interests. 

5.  Care  should  be  exercised  lest  any  plan  for  educational  guid- 
ance degenerate  into  a  system  of  caste  education  and  develop  the 
very  objects  that  it  aims  to  avoid.  With  this  end  in  view,  the 
vocational  counselors  should  be  experts  not  mere  experimenters. 

It  is  quite  important,  too,  that  the  vocational  adviser, 
besides  giving  information  to  the  pupils  regarding  various 
types  of  work  and  their  possibilities,  endeavor  to  ascertain 
not  merely  what  the  pupil  can  do,  but  the  highest  type  of 
activity  in  which  he  is  likely  to  achieve  success.  Observa- 
tion of  several  plans  has  seemed  to  show  an  apparent  satis- 
faction with  directing  a  pupil  into  what  he  is  likely  to  do 
well,  even  though  it  is  not  the  highest  type  of  work  of  which 
he  is  capable. 

The  most  frequent  means  of  vocational  guidance  are 
"pre vocational  work,"  "life-career  or  occupations  classes," 
or  the  "vocational  counselor."  The  pre  vocational  class 
usually  combines  a  rotation  of  various  industrial  subjects 
in  periods  of  six  to  twelve  weeks,  with  a  study  of  oc- 
cupations and  visiting  of  industrial  plants.  Perhaps  the 
best  known  of  these  prevocational  courses  is  the  Ettinger 
plan  l  in  New  York  City.  This  provides  that  in  certain  in- 
termediate schools  the  boys  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades 
are  given  a  combination  of  nine-week  units  in  machine- 
work,  sheet  metal,  wood-working,  printing,  electric  wiring, 

1  Wade:  "Experimenting  with  Prevocational  Training  in  New  York 
City,"  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  2,  pp.  343-58. 

Ettinger:  A  Report  on  the  Organization  and  Extension  of  Prevocational 
Training  in  Elementary  Schools.  New  York  City  Department  of  Education. 
1915. 


264  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

plumbing,  drafting,  garment-design,  sign-painting,  and 
bookbinding.  The  girls  are  given  units  in  dressmaking, 
millinery,  novelty-work,  art-weaving,  power  machines,  etc. 
In  the  Ettinger  plan,  as  pupils  manifest  a  marked  power 
in  a  vocation  and  predilection  for  it,  they  enter  special 
training  without  completing  the  cycle;  if  they  show  marked 
deficiency,  they  may  be  transferred  to  the  academic  course. 
In  other  cities  —  Passaic,  for  example — the  pupils  are  com- 
pelled to  take  the  entire  cycle  for  "try-outs"  because  of 
the  fact  that  many  pupils  are  attracted  to  the  first  indus- 
try with  which  they  have  any  experience  without  learning 
of  the  possibilities  in  others  which  may  be  better  for  them. 

Unless  these  prevocational  "try-outs"  classes  are  sup- 
plemented by  a  study  of  the  vocations  and  their  possibilities 
and  by  visits  to  shops,  they  cannot  reach  their  maximum 
effectiveness.  It  is  quite  true  that  such  a  plan  will  result  in 
guiding  children  away  from  certain  of  the  industries,  —  for 
example,  the  girls  from  power  machine  work;  but  for  a  child 
to  know  what  he  should  for  any  reason  avoid  is  quite  as 
profitable,  perhaps,  as  for  him  to  know  a  trade  for  which  he 
is  fitted. 

"Life-career  or  occupations  classes"  are  found  in  a  num- 
ber of  progressive  junior  high  schools.  That  at  Middletown, 
Connecticut,  is  perhaps  the  one  best  known  and  has  been 
outlined  in  a  widely  used  textbook.1  Such  a  course  has  also 
been  reported  at  Decatur,  Illinois; 2  Butte,  Montana;  Chel- 
sea, Massachusetts;  Mohnton,  Pennsylvania;  and  Lincoln, 
Nebraska.3  In  other  places  —  for  example,  Sacramento, 

1  Gowin  and  Wheatley:  Occupations.  Ginn  &  Co. 
1  School  and  Home  Education,  vol.  33,  pp.  93-100. 
1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  3,  p.  395. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         265 

California;  and  Dansville,  and  Cuba,  New  York  —  instruc- 
tion is  said  to  be  given  in  this  field. 

The  subject-matter  to  be  contained  in  such  a  course  is 
outlined  by  Brewer  as  follows:  x 

In  every  school  there  should  be  a  general  survey  of  the  occupa- 
tional opportunities  which  lie  before  children.  It  makes  little 
difference  how  these  occupations  be  classified,  so  long  as  a  brief 
but  definite  examination  be  made  of  each  of  the  main  vocations 
with  its  characteristics,  advantages,  problems  or  disadvantages, 
remuneration,  possible  lines  of  promotion,  desirable  preparation, 
manner  of  entering,  and  service  to  the  community.  Another 
group  of  facts  is  concerned  with  the  attitude  of  the  worker  toward 
all  the  occupations.  For  example,  beginning  with  the  educational 
guidance  requisite  for  the  child's  successful  school  career,  we  may 
proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  moral  qualities  needed  for  suc- 
cess, the  problems  of  the  young  worker  who  enters  employment 
unprepared,  the  opportunities  for  continuing  one's  education  after 
beginning  work,  labor  laws,  methods  of  choosing  an  occupation, 
means  of  entering  upon  work,  opportunities  for  securing  advice, 
ways  of  studying  the  job  and  securing  promotion,  and  the  relation 
of  one's  occupation  to  the  other  duties  and  opportunities  of  life. 
Unless  the  child  is  to  have  an  opportunity  for  a  simple  study  of 
elementary  economics  and  sociology  in  another  class,  the  occupa- 
tions class  should  take  up  the  questions  of  causes  of  high  and  low 
wages,  fluctuation  in  prices,  purposes,  kinds  and  incidence  of  taxa- 
tion, proposed  reforms  in  taxation,  factors  of  production,  wastes 
in  unproductive  labor,  distribution  of  wealth,  methods  of  and  waste 
in  the  distribution  of  goods  to  consumers,  land  tenure,  rent,  the 
relation  of  government  to  the  occupation,  thrift,  labor  unions,  etc. 

Cohen  and  other  writers  urge  the  necessity  of  including  in 
such  a  course  elements  of  civics,  ethics,  economics,  and  so- 
cial problems  such  as  that  of  labor  unions. 

A  course  of  occupations  is  frequently  supplemented  by  a 
series  of  talks  given  by  representatives  of  various  professions 

1  School  and  Society,  vol.  6,  p.  542. 


266  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

and  industries.  Such  talks  are  reported  from  Silverton, 
Colorado;  Renville,  Minnesota;  McVille,  North  Dakota; 
Ashland,  Oregon;  and  New  Cumberland,  West  Virginia. 
Unquestionably  these  may  be  made  of  much  profit  to  chil- 
dren, though  without  close  direction  by  the  principal  there  is 
almost  inevitably  great  waste  in  that  the  speakers  do  not 
fully  comprehend  the  problem,  or  else  they  give  an  un- 
balanced conception  of  their  own  vocation.  Furthermore, 
as  Brewer  warns,  instead  of  facts  the  school  may  get  "rem- 
iniscences, fatherly  advice,  big  talk  about  successes,  unsocial 
statements  about  competition,  and  various  other  objection- 
able matters."  Some  schools  have  followed  the  plan  out- 
lined by  Davis  1  for  the  senior  high  school  at  Grand  Rapids, 
Michigan.  This  plan  provides  for  a  study  in  the  English 
class  of  abilities,  interests,  aptitudes,  and  possibilities  in  a 
number  of  vocations.  It  is  said  to  have  been  used  in  the 
intermediate  schools  of  Topeka,  Kansas;  North  Easton, 
Massachusetts;  and  Butte,  Montana. 

Besides  the  books  mentioned  in  the  preceding  paragraphs 
Cohen  suggests  the  following  for  the  use  of  pupils  studying 
vocations : 

1.  Bloomfield,  Meyer:  Readings  in  Vocational  Guidance. 

2.  Bloomfield,  Meyer:  Vocational  Guidance  of  Youth. 

3.  Fowler:  Choosing  an  Occupation. 

4.  Fowler:  Books  on  Occupations  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

5.  Marden,  Orison:  Choosing  a  Career. 

6.  Parsons,  Frank:  Choosing  a  Career. 

7.  Puffer,  Joseph:  Vocational  Guidance. 

8.  Weaver,  Ely :  Profitable  Occupations  for  Boys  and  Girls. 

9.  Vocational  Bureau  of  Boston :  Pamphlets. 

1  Davis:  Vocational  and  Moral  Guidance.    Ginn  &  Co. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL        267 

The  idea  of  the  vocational  counselor  in  the  junior  high 
school  has  been  very  popular  because  of  the  obvious  possi- 
bilities. Objections  have  been  made,  however,  that  there 
are  no  teachers  adequately  trained  for  this  work.  It  is  in 
all  probability  true  that  few  have  adequate  training,  but 
there  can  scarcely  be  an  intelligent  adult  interested  in  in- 
dividual pupils  who  cannot  acquire  sufficient  information 
about  the  vocations  of  a  community  to  render  valuable 
assistance.  Brewer  says  that  the  school 

organization  should  provide  for  individual  conferences  on  voca- 
tional choices,  and  on  such  questions  as  further  education,  means 
of  preparation  for  particular  occupations,  opportunities  of  earning 
money  to  allow  the  education  to  be  continued,  and  preferences  of 
parents.  These  conferences  need  be  nothing  more  than  friendly 
conversations,  with  information  and  advice  suited  to  the  needs  of 
the  individual.  Each  child  may  be  asked  to  choose  several  occupa- 
tions for  special  study,  with  tentative  decision  on  one  or  two.  No 
pupil  should  be  asked  to  make  his  final  choice  of  an  occupation 
prematurely;  many  may  profitably  delay  the  choice  until  the  col- 
lege age.  We  may  insist,  however,  that  no  one  should  be  forced 
by  economic  necessity,  or  by  the  negligence  of  the  schools,  to  enter 
a  job  or  an  occupation  blindly.1 

The  vocational  counselor  should  have  ample  time  pro- 
vided for  his  work.  It  is  necessary  for  him  to  spend  a  con- 
siderable amount  of  time  visiting  and  studying  local  indus- 
tries and  the  homes  of  pupils,  and  much  at  the  school  in 
personal  conferences  with  individual  pupils. 

Mount  Vernon,  New  York;  Vincennes,  Indiana;  and  other 
cities  provide  cards  on  which  a  cumulative  record  is  made  of 
particular  qualities  and  activities  that  seem  to  reveal  fitness 
or  unfitness  for  certain  vocations.  Such  cards  have  proved 

1  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  vol.  67, 
pp.  57-58. 


268  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

of  considerable  value,  though  the  counselor  should  be  on 
his  guard  against  the  notion  that  persistence  or  similar  quali- 
ties found  in  one  field  inevitably  manifest  themselves  in  all 
others.  To  quote  Brewer  once  again : l 

It  is  now  beginning  to  be  seen  that  persons  cannot  be  ticketed 
in  this  naive  manner  —  that  the  disorderly  boy  in  one  kind  of 
activity  is  likely  to  become  orderly  in  another,  and  that  even  a 
moral  quality  as  honesty  may,  by  the  same  person,  be  exhibited 
in  one  situation  and  be  lacking  in  another.  In  other  words,  the 
theory  of  formal  discipline  or  general  training  must  not  deceive  the 
teachers;  there  are  few  if  any  mental  qualities  which,  when  present 
in  one  activity,  may  be  credited  to  an  individual  as  a  general  char- 
acteristic. A  boy's  perseverance  in  baseball  does  not  guarantee 
his  perseverance  in  arithmetic.  Some  teachers  attach  too  great 
importance  to  mere  physical  characteristics,  or  to  such  vague  and 
unmeasured  hypotheses  as  "the  influence  of  heredity,"  "innate 
qualities,"  "native  ability,"  and  others.  All  reliance  on  such 
data,  together  with  phrenology,  "character  analysis,"  and  study  of 
physiognomies,  had  best  be  left  to  the  charlatan.  Life  is  too  com- 
plex for  such  short  cuts  —  scientific  study  of  vocational-guidance 
problems  is  necessary,  and  there  is  no  easy  way. 

The  vocational -guidance  record  devised  by  Cohen  and 
used  at  a  New  York  City  public  school,  is  here  given: 

VOCATIONAL-GUIDANCE  RECORD 

1.  Name  of  Pupil 2.  Age 3.  Grade 

4.  Residence 5.  Parent's  Name 

6.  Parent's  Occupation 

7.  Parent's  Plans  for  Pupil 

8.  Pupil  Excels  in  What  Subjects 

9.  Pupil  Fails  in  What  Subjects 

10.  Pupil  Shows  Dislike  in  WTiat  Subjects 

11.  Special  Aptitudes  Noted  by  the  Teacher 

12.  Teacher's  Recommendations  for  Pupil's  Future 


1  Loc.  cit.,  pp.  62-63. 


SOCIAL  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL         269 


13.  Pupil's  Plans 

A.  Continued  Education I.  High  School 

II.  Vocational  School . 

III.  Business  Course. . 

IV.  Other  Plan 

B.  Work? I.  Nature 

II.  Wages 

III.  Knowledge  of .... 

IV.  Other  Plan 

C.  Other  Intentions? 

14.  Counselor's  Advice 


VOCATIONAL  EXPERIENCE  RECORD 
A.  Record  in  Educational  Institutions 


I.  Elementary ....  Effort ....  Proficiency ....  Deportment . .  . 

II.  High  School:  Year  1. . .  .Year  2. . .  .Year  3 Year  4.. . . 

III.  Other  Institutions 

B.  Positions  Held 

When:     Where:    Nature:     Wages:     Comment  of  Employer: 

1 

2 

Some  of  the  junior  high  schools  have  undertaken  voca- 
tional guidance  for  pupils  by  means  of  placement  in  after- 
noons and  Saturdays  for  part-time  work,  or  in  summers  for 
full  work,  in  order  that  children  may  not  only  be  tried  out 
themselves,  but  may  explore  a  vocation  in  which  they  are 
interested.  There  is  conflicting  opinion  as  to  the  school's 
responsibility  for  the  placement  of  its  pupils  when  they 
leave  for  work.  It  is  obvious,  however,  that  some  instru- 
ment of  the  State  should  be  concerned  with  this  phase  of 
guidance. 

Of  the  293  junior  high  schools  in  the  North  Central  Terri- 
tory, 136,  or  46.4  per  cent,  reported  to  Davis  that  they  had 
some  form  of  vocational  guidance. 


CHAPTER  XI 
BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS 

THE  adequacy  of  buildings  and  grounds  for  junior  high 
schools  must  be  considered  in  terms  of  educational  purposes. 
Any  school  building  requires  provisions  for  proper  light, 
heat,  space,  toilets,  safety,  and  the  like;  but  a  junior  high 
school  congregating  adolescents  for  an  intermediate  type  of 
education  needs  to  consider  especially  a  location  that  will 
permit  of  assembling  enough  pupils  to  warrant  the  be- 
ginnings of  differentiation,  grounds  ample  for  the  desired 
program  of  physical  training  and  for  agriculture,  gym- 
nasiums, assembly  halls  and  social  rooms  for  a  program 
of  extra-curriculum  activities,  lunch-rooms  if  the  length 
of  day  is  extended,  and  laboratories  and  shops  for  explor- 
atory or  prevocational  training. 

Inasmuch  as  the  site  for  a  junior  high  school  is  frequently 
determined  by  the  location  of  property  already  owned  by 
the  board  of  education  or  available  for  the  money  that  can 
be  expended,  there  are  many  compromises  with  the  ideal. 
Superintendent  Spaulding  l  proposed  the  reasonable  stand- 
ards shown  in  Table  XLIX  for  pupils  to  travel  to  school. 
Inquiry  was  repeatedly  made  on  visits  to  junior  high  schools 
regarding  the  maximum  distance  that  pupils  had  to  come, 
and  very  seldom  was  the  standard  of  one  mile  exceeded. 
At  Grand  Junction,  Colorado,  and  at  several  Indiana 
schools,  wagons  are  used  to  transport  pupils  who  live  at  a 
1  A  Million  a  Year.  Minneapolis,  1916. 


BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS  271 

TABLE  XLIX 

SHOWING  PROPOSED  STANDARD  RADIUS  IN  MILES  OF  SCHOOL 
TERRITORY 

Grades  Maximum  Desirable 

Kg.-VI 1    mile  f    mile 

VII-IX H  miles  1    mile 

X-XII 2    miles  1J  miles 

distance;  but  junior  high  schools  are  essentially  local  institu- 
tions. When  the  maximum  distance  for  pupils  is  more  than 
one  and  one  half  miles,  there  is  almost  inevitably  loss  in 
holding-power.  In  Evansville,  Indiana,  according  to  Super- 
intendent Benezet,  when  two  eighth  grades  were  opened  to 
accommodate  pupils  living  more  than  one  and  one  half 
miles  from  the  junior-senior  high-school  building,  there  was 
an  immediate  increase  of  one  hundred  in  enrollment. 

The  Strayer  standards  give  a  perfect  score  for  five  to 
twelve  acres  of  school  grounds;  other  standards  demand 
approximately  one  hundred  square  feet  per  pupil  for  play 
space.  Of  112  junior  high  schools  reporting  on  this  item 
only  twelve  have  more  than  five  acres  in  their  site;  44  have 
less  than  one  acre.  Several  of  the  newly  built  city  schools 
—  in  Houston,  Trenton,  and  Boyle  Heights,  Los  Angeles  — 
have  made  ample  provision  for  playing-fields  and  even  for 
agricultural  plots.  The  land  values  reported  by  101  junior 
high  schools  range  from  $100  to  $250,000,  with  a  median  of 
$25,000. 

Partly  because  of  different  ideals,  but  more  because  of 
local  conditions,  junior  high  schools  are  variously  housed. 
Out  of  a  total  of  317  schools  reporting  on  this  item,  88  are  in 
buildings  of  their  own,  some  of  these  being  old  high-school 
buildings  and  others  elementary-school  buildings  more  or 


272  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

less  remodeled  for  the  purpose.  Abandoned  high-school 
buildings,  which  have  many  features  desirable  for  the  inter- 
mediate school,  have  been  utilized  in  Decatur,  Illinois; 
Grand  Rapids,  Michigan;  Fremont,  Ohio;  AUentown,  Penn- 
sylvania; Arlington,  Massachusetts;  and  other  places.  , 

Ninety  junior  high  schools  are  housed  with  the  elementary 
grades,  sometimes  because  of  a  belief  that  it  is  best  to  keep 
together  all  children  until  the  period  of  considerable  differ- 
entiation, sometimes  because  of  economy,  sometimes  be- 
cause of  objections  by  parents  to  the  removal  of  younger 
pupils  to  more  remote  buildings,  and  occasionally,  as  in 
Cincinnati,  because  of  the  ideal  of  making  the  junior  high 
school  a  neighborhood  center  for  all  the  people.  Eighty- 
three  junior  high  schools,  usually  in  cities  of  5000  to  50,000 
population,  are  housed  with  the  senior  high  school;  among 
other  cities  having  a  six-year  secondary  school  may  be  men- 
tioned Detroit  (four  schools),  Los  Angeles  (one  school),  and 
Belleville  Township,  Illinois.  In  McMinnville,  Oregon; 
Anderson,  Indiana;  and  perhaps  other  places  the  junior- 
high-school  building  is  proximate  to  the  senior  high  school, 
thus  making  possible  many  desired  forms  of  cooperation. 
Fifty-three  junior  high  schools,  usually  in  rural  communities 
or  small  towns,  are  housed  with  both  the  elementary  and  the 
higher  secondary  schools.  In  only  an  insignificant  number 
of  places  is  there  a  twelve-year  unit  because  of  a  belief  that 
all  children  in  the  public  schools  should  be  thrown  together. 
Three  junior  high  schools  of  those  reporting  are  in  buildings 
also  used  for  the  training  of  teachers. 

It  is  interesting  to  contrast  the  percentages  of  the  314  l 
1  Deducting  the  three  housed  with  teacher-training  schools. 


BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS  273 

schools  variously  housed  with  those  found  by  Douglass  l 
from  his  questionnaire  study  of  169  schools,  and  by  Davis  2 
from  his  more  complete  returns  from  272  schools  in  the 
North  Central  Association  Territory.  The  fact  that  none 
of  Douglass's  or  of  Davis's  schools  reported  being  housed 
with  all  the  other  grades  (this  probably  being  due  to  the 
form  of  questionnaire  used)  of  course  makes  the  figures  not 
strictly  comparable. 

TABLE  L 
SHOWING  THE  HOUSING  OF  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Housed U.S.  (314)  Doug.  (178)  No.Cent.  (272) 

separately 28.0%  26.6%  18.0% 

with  elementary  school     28.7%  37.7%  31.2% 

with  senior  high  school     26.4%  36.1%  50.7% 
with    both    elementary 

and  senior  high  school     17.0%  ?  ? 

100.0%     100.0%  99.9% 

Among  other  cities  that  have  erected  buildings  specifically 
for  junior  high  schools,  and  consequently  containing  inter- 
esting features,  may  be  mentioned  Houston,  Texas;  Kansas 
City,  Kansas;  Richmond,  Virginia;  Trenton,  New  Jersey; 
and  Rochester,  New  York  (the  Jefferson  School). 

Of  235  junior  high  schools  reporting  on  the  item,  half  of 
them  were  erected  before  1908,  and  166,  or  70.6  per  cent, 
before  1914;  these  facts  reveal  the  amount  of  adaptation. 
The  median  of  original  cost  of  199  buildings  was  a  little  over 

1  Douglass:  The  Junior  High  Softool.    Part  in  of  the  Fifteenth  Year- Book 
of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study  of  Education.     To  make  the  numbers 
more   nearly  comparable,  a  few  schools  were  omitted  in  obtaining  these 
percentages. 

2  C.  O.  Davis:   Junior  High  Schools  in  the  North  Central  Association 
Territory,  1917-1918. 


274  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

$50,000;  one  fourth  of  the  buildings  cost  less  than  $35,000 
and  one  fourth  more  than  $100,000. 

Fifty-eight  buildings  occupied  by  junior  high  schools  are 
reported  as  having  been  remodeled,  but  probably  the  four- 
teen that  were  remodeled  before  1912  had  no  changes  made 
in  them  especially  for  their  present  purpose.  In  one  half 
the  cases  less  than  $5000  was  spent  in  alterations,  which 
would  imply  that  little  adaptation  to  new  needs  was  made. 
This  implication  is  not  generally  sound,  however,  for  in  some 
of  the  small  junior  high  schools  of  Vermont,  for  instance, 
very  satisfactory  improvements  were  secured  by  a  minimum 
outlay  of  money,  the  boys  doing  much  of  the  work  of  remod- 
eling as  a  part  of  their  training  in  manual  arts. 

More  important  than  the  cost  of  the  building  or  the  date 
of  its  erection  is  its  adaptation  to  the  work  for  which  it  is 
intended.  Of  224  schools  reporting  on  the  item,  188,.  or  84 
per  cent,  have  libraries.1  The  number  of  volumes  ranges 
from  50-100  to  6500-7000,  the  median  number  being  800-900. 
Several  schools  are  near  public  libraries,  in  at  least  two  of 
which  regular  classes  are  conducted  in  finding  and  effec- 
tively using  books. 

Assembly  halls  are  in  198,  or  85  per  cent,  of  the  244  schools 
reporting,  four  of  the  schools  having  two  such  halls.  In  a 
number  of  the  smaller  schools  assembly  is  held  in  one  of  the 
largest  recitation-rooms;  whether  such  rooms  are  listed  as 
assembly  halls  is  unknown.  In  the  Boyle  Heights  (Los 
Angeles)  School  there  are  two  small  auditoriums,  which  are 
used  for  classes  in  public  speaking,  dramatics,  and  music. 

1  See  Certain,  C.  C.:  "A  Standard  High-School  Library  Organization 
for  Accredited  Secondary  Schools  of  Different  Sizes,"  Educational  Admin- 
istration and  Supervision,  vol.  3,  pp.  817-38,  especially  pp.  332-33. 


BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS  275 

One  or  more  gymnasiums  are  provided  in  126,  or  51.0  per 
cent,  of  the  247  schools  reporting.  It  may  safely  be  said 
that  practically  all  of  the  large  schools  have  provision  for 
indoor  physical  training;  there  is  also  a  strong  tendency 
where  new  grounds  are  secured  to  provide  more  adequate 
out-of-door  playing  space.  Sixteen  schools  report  that  they 
have  swimming-pools. 

The  proportion  of  junior  high  schools  having  auditoriums 
and  gymnasiums  is  gratifying,  but  its  significance  does  not 
become  really  apparent  until  it  is  contrasted  with  the  pro- 
portion of  unreorganized  schools  having  these  special  rooms. 
Combining  our  data  with  those  presented  in  Bulletin  44 
(1915)  of  the  United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  which 
reports  conditions  in  1334  towns  or  cities  of  2500  to  30,000 
population,  we  find  the  following: 

TABLE  LI 

SHOWING  PER  CENTS  OF  SCHOOLS  HAVING  AUDITORIUMS  AND 
GYMNASIUMS 

Representative  Auditoriums  Gymnasiums 

Junior  high  schools 85 . 0  51.0 

Grade  buildings 23.0  7.4 

High  schools 67.0  35.0 

Although  the  data  for  elementary  and  high  schools  are  from 
no  cities  above  30,000,  a  comparison  with  those  from  repre- 
sentative high  schools  is  on  the  whole  fair.  The  conclusion 
is  either  that  more  progressive  cities  establish  junior  high 
schools  or  that  junior  high  schools  generally  secure  audito- 
riums and  gymnasiums  better  than  do  other  types. 

One  hundred  and  ten,  or  nearly  half,  of  the  228  schools  re- 
porting, have  special  lunch-rooms.  These  range  from  simple 


276  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

bare  rooms  with  chairs  or  benches  and  tables  to  completely 
equipped  cafeterias  such  as  are  found  in  the  large  modern 
high-school  buildings.  It  is  common  testimony  that  if 
pupils  must  remain  at  the  school  through  the  noon  hour  the 
lunch-room  is  an  economical  investment.  Moreover,  it  is 
frequently  a  profitable  laboratory  for  the  pupils  taking 
household  arts  and  accounting.  Superintendent  Wirt  states 
that  he  finds  girls  of  pre-adolesccnt  period  more  willing  to  do 
various  kinds  of  work  in  the  lunch-rooms  than  they  are 
when  slightly  older  and  more  self-conscious. 

Laboratories  are  reported  in  185,  or  79  per  cent,  of  the  234 
schools  that  answered  the  question.  Of  these  164  have  one 
laboratory,  fifteen  have  two,  three  have  three,  one  has  four, 
and  two  have  five.  It  is  probable  that  the  majority  of  the 
schools  not  reporting  on  this  topic  have  no  laboratories. 

Shops  are  reported  of  many  kinds.  Table  LII  shows 
the  kinds  of  shops  and  the  number  of  schools  reporting 
each.  Nothing  else  could  so  emphasize  the  experimental 
attitude  of  the  junior  high  school  regarding  the  kind  of  in- 
dustrial work,  prevocational  exploration,  or  cultural  hand- 
training,  and  the  effort  to  adapt  the  industrial  education 
to  local  needs,  as  the  variety  in  kinds  of  shop. 

There  is  reason  to  believe  that  these  figures  are  far  below 
the  fact.  There  are  listed,  for  example,  only  six  schools 
with  special  rooms  for  stenography  and  typewriting,  whereas 
there  are  actually  several  times  that  number  in  the  sixty 
schools  visited.  Besides  the  two  listed,  at  least  Rochester, 
New  York,  also  has  a  shop  for  automobile  repairs.  Similarly, 
only  twenty-eight  schools  report  paint-shops,  whereas  Davis 
had  returns  from  twenty-four  schools  offering  painting  in  the 


BUILDINGS  AND  GROUNDS  £77 

TABLE  LII 

Number  Number 

Shop  or  laboratory         of  schools  Shop  or  laboratory         of  schools 

Agriculture 86  Freehand  drawing 4 

Gardening 3  Painting 2 

Woodworking 21 1  Plumbing 1 

Manual  training 1  Printing 28 

Joinery 1  Cement  work 2 

Mill 1  Clay  modeling '  1 

Pattern-making 3  Shoemaking 2 

Turning 1  Tailoring 1 

Jobbing 1  Barbering 1 

Specialties 1  Stenography  and  typewriting .     6 

Sheet-metal 37  Bookbinding 5 

Machine-shop 9  Copper  and  jewelry 1 

Gas-engine 2  Reedwork 1 

Automobile  repair 2  Laundry 1 

Mechanical  engineering ...     1  Sewing 215 

Electrical  engineering 1  Millinery 1 

Electricity 10  Design 1 

Forging 10  Cooking 221 

Mechanical  drawing 5  Physiography 1 

Drafting 1  Total 7882 

North  Central  Territory  alone.  The  questionnaire  was  long 
and  those  making  the  returns  probably  tired  of  giving  details. 

Among  the  unusually  interesting  shops  may  be  mentioned 
one  at  the  Fourteenth  Street  Intermediate  School  in  Los 
Angeles  for  the  training  of  negro  boys  to  be  cooks  in  Pull- 
man dining-cars;  one  for  barbering  at  Xenia,  Ohio;  the  two 
for  automobile  repairs  at  Oakland,  California,  and  Grand 
Rapids,  Michigan;  and  the  specialty  shop  at  New  Britain, 
Connecticut. 

Engelhardt 1  found  the  following  interesting  facts  regard- 
ing the  distribution  of  floor  space  in  nine  junior  high  schools : 

1  A  School- Building  Program  for  Cities.  For  definitions  of  the  terms 
used,  see  page  76. 


278  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  L1II 

SHOWING  BY  PEBCENTAGE  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  THE  ENTIRE 
FLOOR  SPACE  OF  NINE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Median  25  Percentile      75  PercentUe 

Administration 15 . 56  sq.  ft.   11 . 62  sq.  ft.   17. 75  sq.  ft- 

Instruction 41.11  35.52  43.45 

Social  activities 15.84  12.82  18.80 

General 20.56  17.03  21.06 

Construction 8.21  6.96  9.59 

The  percentage  of  the  entire  floor  space  devoted  to  instruc- 
tional and  social  activities  combined  was  as  shown  in 
Table  LIV. 

TABLE  LIV 

SHOWING  PERCENTAGE  OF  ENTIRE  FLOOR  SPACE  OF  NINE  JUNIOR 
HIGH  SCHOOLS  DEVOTED  TO  INSTRUCTION  AND  SOCIAL  ACTIVITIES 

A 61.9        D 56.6        G 54.0 

B 61.8        E 55.1        H 53.0 

C 60.2        F 54.8        1 48.0 

All  facts  show  that  in  general  no  provisions  for  buildings 
have  generally  been  made  commensurate  with  the  needs 
and  ideals  of  the  junior  high  school.  The  new  institution 
has  for  the  most  part  been  housed  in  cast-off  buildings  or 
combined  with  the  elementary-  or  high-school  grades. 
These  economies  and  makeshifts  have  been  necessary  to 
secure  the  organization  at  all.  As  it  proves  its  worth  and 
manifests  its  needs,  adequate  buildings  are  likely  to  be  pro- 
vided. A  few  cities,  mentioned  on  page  273,  have  already 
erected  buildings  that  are  long  steps  in  advance  for  the 
education  of  early  adolescents;  and  several  of  the  larger 
cities  —  for  example,  Philadelphia,  Boston,  Oakland  and 
Buffalo  —  have  entered  on  a  program  that  will  result  in  a 
number  of  special  buildings  for  intermediate  schools. 


CHAPTER  XII 

COSTS 

WHEN  offered  something  new  and  attractive,  our  natural 
question  is,  "What  will  it  cost?"  We  balance  the  advan- 
tages  of  the  new  against  those  of  the  old,  consider  the  likeli- 
hood of  realizing  them  in  practice,  estimate  their  relative 
values,  review  our  assets,  and  make  a  decision.  This  proc- 
ess is  precisely  the  one  an  administrator  is  impelled  to  fol- 
low when  he  hears  the  claims  for  the  junior  high  school. 

The  question  of  cost  is  exceedingly  complex.  If  we  seek 
to  ascertain  what  junior  high  schools  have  cost  in  various 
cities,  we  find  few  reports,  and  those  computed  by  such 
different  methods  as  seldom  to  be  strictly  comparable.  And 
even  if  schoolmen  were  good  accountants  and  reported  out- 
lays that  could  be  fairly  compared,  it  will  be  obvious  from 
previous  chapters  that  the  amounts  have  been  expended  for 
schools  very  different  in  organization  and  aims,  even  though 
bearing  the  same  name.  Moreover,  many  items  that  should 
be  considered  cannot  be  readily  evaluated  in  dollars  and 
cents.  How  much,  for  example,  is  it  worth  to  a  community 
for  a  school  to  awaken  in  a  boy  an  impelling  ambition  or  to 
retain  him  for  study  a  year  longer  than  he  would  otherwise 
remain? 

The  problem  of  cost  is  too  important,  however,  to  be  dis- 
missed merely  because  it  is  difficult.  In  this  chapter  will 
be  presented  the  facts,  so  far  as  they  could  be  secured,  of  the 
absolute  and  relative  monetary  costs  of  junior -high  schools, 


280  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

and  later  an  analytic  set  of  questions  that  must  be  answered 
before  the  problem  can  be  fully  solved. 

The  questionnaire  used  in  this  study  asked  for  the  per 
capita  cost  (total  expenditure  for  instruction  and  mainte- 
nance divided  by  the  average  number  of  pupils  attending)  in 
grades  1  to  6,  1  to  8,  7  and  8,  the  junior  high  school,  and  the 
senior  high  school.  Only  a  few  of  the  reports  gave  costs  for 
each  group  of  grades,  and  not  many  more  for  enough  of  the 
groups  to  make  the  returns  worth  considering  here.  Only 
those  data  pertinent  to  our  discussion  are  presented  in  the 
tables  of  this  chapter.  The  returns  are  reproduced  as  re- 
ceived, except  that  costs  given  by  the  month  were  multi- 
plied arbitrarily  by  nine,  and  that  in  two  instances  corrected 
data  are  supplied  from  official  sources;  there  has  been  no 
further  attempt  to  go  behind  the  figures  reported.  One 
should  keep  in  mind,  however,  that  the  schools  differed 
greatly  in  organization,  size,  equipment,  etc.,  as  is  obvious 
if  one  studies  the  details.  The  tables  presented  in  this  chap- 
ter show  merely  the  amounts  of  money  the  cities  report 
having  expended  for  the  different  types  of  schools.  Whether 
or  not  a  high  or  a  low  expenditure  is  economical  is  entirely 
another  question,  to  be  answered  by  a  consideration  of  the 
relative  worth  of  what  was  secured  in  return. 

Table  LV  presents  the  returns  from  all  places  that 
reported  the  per  capita  costs  in  both  junior  and  senior 
high  schools.  When  the  costs  for  any  of  the  other  combi- 
nations of  grades  are  given,  they  are  included  also.  The 
average  per  capita  cost  for  thirty-nine  junior  high  schools 
reporting  is  $53.72;  the  average  cost  of  the  thirty-five 
senior  high  schools  is  $65.60.  In  other  words,  in  these  cities, 


COSTS 


281 


TABLE  LV 

SHOWING  THE  PER  CAPITA  COSTS  OF  THE  SEVERAL  SCHOOL 
DIVISIONS 


City 

Grades 
I-VI 

Grades 
I-VIII 

Grades 
VII- 
VIII 

Junior 
High 
School 

Senior 
High 

School 

New  Cumberland,  W.  Va  
Radcliffe  Iowa           

21  15 

24  12 

27  00 

24.00 
27  00 

29.50 
37.98 

Johnstown    Penn  

21  00 

22  24 

23  50 

35  73 

38.16 

Chacotah,  Okla  

2:9  .  75 

40.00 

Mohnton,  Penn  

13  50 

25.00 

40.00 

Saline  Mich  .  .          

26  00 

31  00 

37  00 

40.00 

40.00 

Richmond,  Va.,  Belleview  

32.09 

43.56 

"            "     Binford  

37.30 

Hays,  Kansas  

24.75 

26.55 

28.35 

28.35 

44.01 

Bowling  Green,  Ohio  

18.14 

48.51 

45.23 

Topeka,  Kansas  

32  40 

26.01 

45.36 

Albany,  Oregon  

30  00 

30  00 

30  00 

40.00 

48.80 

Muncie,  Ind             

50.40 

50.40 

\Villiamsport,  Ind             ... 

18  45 

33  75 

50.50 

Crawfordsville,  Ind  

24.93 

24.93 

24.93 

24.93 

51.30 

New  Britain,  Conn  

26.47 

35.27 

59.39 

59.39 

51.47 

Dansville,  N.Y   

25  00 

35.00 

55.00 

McMinnville,  Oregon  

43.00 

55.00 

Anderson,  Ind  

32.50 

35.50 

39  .  00 

41.00 

56.40 

East  Chicago,  Ind  

30.12 

56.83 

56.83 

56.83 

Mankato,  Minn   

40.00 

60.00 

Independence,  Iowa  

36.00 

63.00 

Muskogee,  Okla     

28.08 

34.11 

65.70 

Granite  District,  Utah.   

36.00 

38.00 

45.00 

50.00 

70.00 

Decatur  111        

31  00 

51.00 

71.00 

Hibbing,  Minn  ,  

48.00 

62.00 

72.00 

Essex  Center,  Vt  

30.00 

75.00 

Kalamazoo,  Mich  

36.46 

40.12 

45.78 

58.00 

78.23 

Trenton,  N.  J  

33.38 

74.25 

85.68 

Pomona,  Cal  

54.54 

91.19 

91.19 

91.19 

Berkeley,  Cal  

63.00 

62.95 

96.67 

96.61 

96.61 

Grand  Rapids,  Mich  

36.07 

44.20 

73.51 

97.71 

Oakland,  Cal  

62.52 

90.00 

100  .  92 

Old  Town,  Me  

76.50 

103  .  92 

Pasadena    Cal   ....        .  .    ... 

64.65 

75.00 

75.00 

140.36 

Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Sentous  .... 
"      14th  Street. 
"      Berendo... 
"          "     McKinley.  . 

56.03 

63.08 

91.00 
107.06 
105.33 
113.55 

145.08 

282  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

the  junior  high  school  costs  on  the  average  eighteen  per  cent 
less  than  the  senior  high  school.  In  one  place  it  costs  only 
forty  per  cent  as  much;  in  five  places  it  costs  the  same;  and 
in  two  places  actually  more.  High  costs  for  either  type  of 
school  usually  are  due  to  a  large  amount  of  industrial  shop- 
work. 

Table  LVI  presents  the  data  from  twenty-two  cities  that 
report  the  costs  for  the  first  six  grades,  the  junior  high 
school,  and  the  senior  high  school.  The  average  per  capita 
cost  in  the  elementary  grades  is  $31.38;  the  average  for  the 
junior  high  schools  is  $50.04;  and  the  average  for  the  senior 
high  schools  is  $63.48.  Roughly,  the  costs  of  the  three 
types  of  schools  in  these  twenty- two  places  are  in  the  propor- 
tions of  5-9-10. 

If  we  assume  that  the  pupils  in  these  twenty  cities  are 
distributed  through  the  grades  according  to  the  estimate 
of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education  :  for  the 
country  at  large,  and  if  we  assume,  further,  that  without 
junior  high  schools  the  per  capita  cost  for  the  first  six  grades 
would  remain  the  same  through  grades  seven  and  eight,  and 
that  the  per  capita  cost  for  the  senior  high  schools  would  be 
the  same  with  the  ninth  grade  included,  then  we  are  able  to 
compare  the  cost  of  systems  with  and  without  junior  high 
schools.  The  conditions  being  granted,  the  cost  to  these 
twenty-two  cities  for  a  junior-high-school  organization  was 
three  and  one  third  per  cent  more  than  it  would  have  been 
with  an  eight-year  elementary  school  followed  by  a  four-year 
high  school.  This  estimate  does  not  take  into  account  any 
changes  that  may  have  been  achieved  in  retention  of  pupils, 
1  Report  far  1917,  vol.  n,  p.  7. 


COSTS 


283 


TABLE  LVI 

SHOWING  THE  PER  CAPITA  COSTS  OP  SEVERAL  SCHOOL  DIVISIONS 
IN  THE  SAME  22  CITIES 


City 

Grades 
I-VI 

Grades 
VII-VIII 

Junior 
High 
School 

Senior 
High 
School 

Radcliffe,  Iowa  

21.15 

27  00 

27  00 

37  98 

Johnstown,  Penn  

21.00 

23  50 

35.73 

38.16 

Mohnton,  Penn   

IS.  50 

25  00 

40  00 

Saline,  Mich  

26.00 

37  00 

40  00 

40  00 

Hays  Kansas   .        

24  75 

28  35 

28  35 

44  01 

Bowling  Green,  Ohio  

18  14 

48  51 

45.23 

Albany  Oregon    

30.00 

SO  00 

40  00 

48  80 

\Villiamsport,  Ind  

18.45 

33  75 

50  50 

Crawfordsville,  Ind.  .  

24  93 

24  93 

24  93 

51  30 

New  Britain,  Conn  

26.47 

59.39 

59.39 

51.47 

Dansville,  N.Y  

25.00 

35.00 

55  00 

Anderson,  Ind  

32.50 

39  00 

41.00 

56  40 

East  Chicago,  Ind  

30.12 

56  83 

56  83 

56.83 

Granite  District,  Utah  

36  00 

45  00 

50  00 

70  00 

Decatur,  111  

SI  00 

51  00 

71  00 

Lewiston,  Idaho  

31  .  00  . 

51.00 

71.00 

Hibbing,  Minn  

48.00 

62.00 

72.00 

Kalamazoo,  Mich  

34.46 

45  78 

58  00 

78.23 

Trenton,  N.  J  

24.32 

74  25 

85  68 

Pomona,  Cal  

54.54 

91.19 

91  19 

91.19 

Berkeley,  Cal  

63.00 

96.67 

96.61 

96.61 

Los  Angeles,  Cal.,  Sentous  .... 
"     14th  Street  . 
Berendo.... 
"     McKinley  .  . 

56.03 

91.00 
107.06 
109.79 
113.55 

145.08 

saving  of  time,  increased  educational  values,  or  any  other 
matters. 

Following  is  an  estimate  of  the  comparative  costs  in 
St.  Louis: 

The  cost  per  pupil  for  instruction  in  the  Ben  Blewett  Junior 
High  School  during  the  year  1917-18  was  about  $75,  as  against  $40 
for  the  elementary  schools,  and  $105  for  the  four-year  high  schools. 


284  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

However,  the  comparative  cost  per  pupil  per  year  does  not  take 
into  account  several  factors.  The  seventh-  and  eighth-grade  costs 
in  the  regular  elementary  schools  are  higher  than  in  the  lower 
grades,  so  that  the  cost  per  pupil  would  probably  be  nearer  $50 
than  $40.  On  the  other  hand,  the  high-school  freshmen  cost  less 
per  pupil  year  than  the  third-  and  fourth-year  students;  so  that  the 
cost  of  the  ninth  grades  in  the  regular  high  schools  is  probably 
nearer  $90  than  $105.  Assuming  these  estimates  to  be  nearly  cor- 
rect, the  junior-high-school  pupils  of  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades, 
approximately  two  thirds  of  the  total  enrollment,  should  be 
checked  up  against  the  $50  cost  of  the  elementary  schools,  and  the 
ninth  grade,  one  third,  against  the  high-school  cost  of  $90;  thus: 
2/3X50-H/3X90  =  $63.33  per  pupil  in  comparison  to  $75  actual 
cost. 

However,  the  pupils  in  junior  high  school  make  more  rapid 
progress  than  in  elementary  school  or  high  school.  The  cost  per 
grade  progress  in  1917-18  was  only  $57  in  all  three  grades,  making 
the  saving  on  1400  children,  the  average  membership  of  the 
school,  a  saving  of  more  than  $8000  annually  to  the  community. 

And  yet  the  total  money  cost  is  not  apparently  less  because  the 
junior  high  school  retains  its  pupils,  and  as  long  as  they  remain, 
the  school  does  not  save  the  money  ordinarily  saved  by  eliminating 
one  third  to  two  thirds  of  the  pupils.  The  elimination  owing  to 
pupils  going  to  work  or  remaining  at  home  was  less  than  3  per 
cent  during  the  year  1917-18.  Indeed,  the  school  is  promoting  to 
the  tenth  grade  of  the  senior  high  school  more  pupils  from  its  half 
of  the  old  Soldan  High  School  district  than  used  to  enter  the  tenth 
grade  from  the  whole  district,  about  550  children  a  year.1 

Illustrating  some  of  the  difficulties  of  securing  accurate 
and  comparable  statements  of  costs  and  of  the  variations 
even  in  the  same  city,  the  following  comments  on  repre- 
sentative data  are  presented. 

One  city  in  the  Far  West  furnished  data  from  which 
Table  LVII  is  made: 

1  Lyman:  "The  Ben  Blewett  Junior  High  School  of  St.  Louis,"  School 
Review,  vol.  28,  p.  110. 


COSTS 


285 


TABLE  LVII 
SHOWING  ENROLLMENT  AND  PER  PUPIL  COSTS  IN  ONE  CITY 


Year 

No.  of 
pupils 
grades 
VII-XII 

No.  of 
teachers 
grades 
VII-XII 

Total 
cost 

°f. 
salaries 

Per  capita 
cost  of 
instruction 
grades 
VII-XII 

Per  capita 
cost  of 
maintaining 
the  whole 
system 

8-4  organization, 
1913-14  

327 

17 

$13  900 

$42  51 

$44  44 

Junior  High  Schools 
established  — 
1914-15  

422 

18 

15,575 

36  91 

39.78 

1915-16  

469 

18 

17,406 

37  11 

32.92 

1916-17*  

532 

19 

18,459 

34  70 

? 

*  First  Semester  only 

On  the  face  of  the  returns  the  junior  high  school  has  had 
a  wonderful  effect  on  the  number  of  pupils  above  the  ele- 
mentary grades  at  a  marked  reduction  in  per  capita  cost. 
But  are  there  other  pertinent  facts  involved?  Disregarding 
rather  marked  differences  in  figures  furnished  by  the  super- 
intendent at  different  times,  differences  due  probably  to 
different  methods  of  computing  costs,  we  must  note  first  of 
all  that  the  gross  expenditure  for  salaries  in  the  six  superior 
grades  increased  24.7  per  cent,  with  an  average  increase  per 
teacher  of  15.8  per  cent.  The  decrease  per  capita  cost  must 
be  due,  then,  to  such  an  increase  in  the  number  of  pupils  as 
to  permit  of  classes  of  larger  size.  (As  the  per  capita  costs 
for  grades  7  to  12  and  for  grades  1  to  12  are  derived  by 
different  methods,  they  cannot  be  compared.)  The  effect 
of  educational  changes  in  a  school  system  is  usually  slow; 
the  increase  in  the  number  of  pupils  here,  after  the  establish- 
ment of  the  junior  high  school,  is  so  sudden  as  to  suggest 


286  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

that  other  causes  may  have  been  at  work.  These  were 
found  to  be  a  truancy  law  for  the  first  time  efficiently  admin- 
istered and  a  successful  campaign  for  high-school  pupils 
from  adjacent  districts  without  secondary  schools  of  their 
own.  That  the  registration  continued  to  grow  and  the  per 
capita  cost  to  decrease  in  spite  of  an  increased  salary  aver- 
age is  evidence  that  the  maximum  size  of  the  classes  possible 
with  the  building  and  equipment  had  not  been  reached;  if 
the  increase  continues,  the  curve  of  per  capita  costs  will,  of 
course,  not  so  steadily  fall.  These  facts  do  not  prove  that 
the  institution  of  a  junior  high  school  has  been  ineffective; 
a  day  spent  in  examining  the  organization  and  visiting  the 
classes  revealed  merits  which  unaided  should  result  in  a 
larger  and  more  healthful  attendance.  The  facts  do  show, 
however,  that  conclusions  should  not  be  hastily  drawn  from 
data  that  do  not  present  all  of  the  material  evidence  in  a 
situation. 

A  city  in  the  South,  which  failed  to  report  data  on  the 
questionnaire,  has  a  per  capita  cost  for  its  junior  high  schools 
considerably  higher  than  that  for  its  senior  high  school. 
Investigation  showed  that  the  senior  high  school  was  housed 
in  an  old  building  inadequate  for  even  the  traditional  aca- 
demic courses;  it  had  no  assembly  hall,  no  gymnasium,  and 
only  makeshifts  for  laboratories;  its  grounds  extended  only 
a  few  yards  to  the  street.  The  junior  high  schools,  on  the 
other  hand,  were  in  every  sense  modern.  One  of  them,  on  a 
campus  of  seven  and  a  half  acres,  has  a  building  costing  a 
quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  It  has  an  assembly  hall  with 
a  moving-picture  booth,  an  outdoor  theater,  a  library,  labo- 
ratories, shops,  and  a  gymnasium  with  a  swimming-pool. 


COSTS  287 

"It  costs  more,"  said  the  superintendent,  "not  because  it  is 
a  junior  high  school,  but  because  it  gives  more." 

For  this  report  a  comparative  study  of  costs  of  the  several 
types  of  schools  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  was  made  by 
Professor  C.  O.  Davis,  the  city  being  selected  because  it 
contains  six-year  elementary  schools,  eight-year  elementary 
schools,  a  three-year  junior  high  school  established  in  1912, 
a  four-year  high  school,  and  two  six-year  high  schools. 

The  cost  for  instruction  in  this  study  of  the  Grand  Rapids 
schools  is  based  on  the  enrollment  and  salary  list  (including 
teachers,  regular  and  special,  principals,  and  clerks),  for  the 
second  semester  1916-17,  while  the  cost  for  maintenance  and 
equipment  is  based  on  the  expenditures  and  enrollment  for 
the  year  1915-16.  Maintenance  includes  the  following 
items:  janitors'  salaries,  upkeep  of  buildings,  upkeep  of 
grounds,  fuel,  water,  light  and  power,  furniture,  general 
supplies,  and  janitors'  supplies.  The  cost  of  equipment  was 
found  by  computing  the  interest  at  five  per  cent  of  the  valu- 
ation of  the  buildings,  grounds,  and  equipment. 

In  figuring  the  per  capita  cost  we  did  not  take  into  con- 
sideration all  the  schools  of  the  city,  but  tried  to  take  schools 
which  would  be  representative  of  the  various  social  com- 
munities within  the  city.  Madison,  Buchanan,  Turner, 
and  Plainfield  are  schools  which  contain  only  the  first  six 
grades,  and  are  situated  in  various  sections  of  the  city. 
Sigsbee,  Hall,  Palmer,  and  Lexington  Schools  contain  the 
eight  elementary  grades,  and  are  also  situated  in  the  various 
sections  of  the  city.  The  Junior  High  School  aims  to  contain 
only  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades,  but  at  the  pres- 
ent time  it  has  also  some  pupils  in  the  fifth,  sixth,  and  tenth 


288 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


grades.  The  Union  School  contains  all  the  grades  from  the 
first  to  the  twelfth,  and  is  situated  on  the  West  Side,  which 
is  chiefly  a  manufacturing  district.  The  South  High  con- 
tains the  grades  from  the  seventh  to  eleventh,  inclusive; 
however,  it  is  intended  to  add  a  twelfth  grade  next  year. 
The  Central  High  School  is  the  old  conventional  type  of 
high  school,  contains  grades  nine  to  twelve  inclusive,  and 
is  situated  in  the  best  residential  section  of  the  city.  The 
comparative  costs  are  given  in  the  following  tables. 

TABLE  LVIII 

SHOWING  THE  PER  CAPITA  COST  PER  ANNUM  OF  EDUCATION  IN 
GRADES  ONE  TO  Six  OF  FOUR  SCHOOLS  IN  GRAND  RAPIDS 


Item 

Madison 
School 

Buchanan 
School 

Turner 
School 

Plainfield 
School 

Average 

Instruction  

$28  .  21 

$24  72 

$25  53 

$23  .  06 

$25  38 

Maintenance  

7.42 

7.50 

6.95 

6.96 

7.21 

Interest  on  equipment  .  .  . 

5.27 

4.32 

5.38 

2.70 

4.42 

Totals     

$40  90 

$36.54 

$37  86 

$32.72 

$37  01 

Item 

Sigsbee 
(a) 

Hall 
(a) 

Palmer 
(a) 

Lexing- 
ton (a) 

Junior 
(&) 

Union 
to 

South 
(d) 

Instruction  

$33.96 
11.03 

9.38 

$34.72 
8.69 

4.48 

$27.20 
7.28 

5.35 

$40.44 
13.86 

10.41 

$55.62 
12.41 

8.78 

$49.14 
6.52 

9.46 

$88.00 
21.29 

25.73 

Maintenance  

Interest  on  equip- 
ment   

Totals  

$54.87 

$47.89 

$39.83 

$64.71 

$76.81 

$65.12 

$135.02 

(a)  Schools  operated  on  the  1-8  basis 

(b)  School  operated  on  the  7-9  basis 


(c)  School  operated  on  the  1-12  basis 

(d)  School  operated  on  the  7-11  basis 


COSTS 
TABLE  LX 


289 


SHOWING  THE  PER  CAPITA  COST  PER  ANNUM  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE 
EIGHTH  GRADE  OF  SEVEN  SCHOOLS  IN  GRAND  RAPIDS 


Item 

Sigsbee 
(a) 

Hall 

(a) 

Palmer 
(a) 

Lexing- 
ton (a) 

Junior 
(b) 

Union 
(c) 

South 
(d) 

Instruction  

$41.49 
11.03 

9.38 

$40.95 
8.69 

4.48 

$28.09 
7.28 

5.35 

$39.06 
13.86 

10.41 

$46.81 
12.41 

8.78 

$34.91 
6.52 

9.46 

$54.37 
21.29 

25.73 

Maintenance    

Interest  on  equip- 
ment   

Totals  

$61.90 

$54.12 

$40.72 

$63.33 

$68.00 

$50  .  89 

$101.39 

(u)  Schools  operated  on  the  1-8  basis          (c)  School  operated  on  the  1-12  basis 
(b)  School  operated  on  the  7-9  basis  (<1 1  School  operated  on  the  7-11  basis 

TABLE  LXI 

SHOWING  THE  PER  CAPITA  COST  PER  ANNUM  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE 
NINTH  GRADE  OF  FOUR  SCHOOLS  IN  GRAND  RAPIDS 


Item 

Junior 

Central 

Union 

South 

Instruction  

$39.36 

$50.05 

$61.61 

$37.19 

Maintenance  

12.41 

14.71 

16.71 

21.29 

Interest  on  equipment.  .  . 

8.78 

19.01 

9.46 

25.73 

Totals.  . 

$60.55 

$83.77 

$87.78 

$84.21 

TABLE  LXII 

SHOWING  THE  PER  CAPITA  COST  PER  ANNUM  OF  EDUCATION  IN  THE 
TENTH,  ELEVENTH,  AND  TWELFTH  GRADES  OF  THREE  SCHOOLS 
IN  GRAND  RAPIDS 


Item 

Central 

Union 

South  (a) 

Instruction  

$70.88 

$6*  .  28 

$52.73 

Maintenance  

14.71 

16.71 

21.29 

Interest  on  equipment  

19.01 

9.46 

25.73 

Total.. 

$104.60 

$88.45 

$99.75 

(a)  Tenth  and  eleventh  grades  only  accounted  for  in  the  South  School 


290  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


Sigsbee $116.27    Junior $144.81 

Hall 102.01     Union 116.01 

Palmer 80.55     South 236.41 

Lexington 128.04 

TABLE  LXIV 

COST  OP  CARRYING  A  PUPIL  THROUGH  THE  SEVENTH,  ElGHTH,  AND 
NINTH  GRADES  OF  CERTAIN  SCHOOLS  OF  GRAND  RAPIDS 

Junior  High $205 . 36  Hall  and  Central .......  $185 . 78 

Union  High 203 . 79  Lexington  and  Union .  .  215 . 82 

South  High 320 . 62  Palmer  and  Central ....   164 . 32 

Sigsbee  and  Central. ..   200.04 


The  case  of  South  High  is  hardly  typical  for  the  schools 
of  Grand  Rapids,  inasmuch  as  building  and  equipment  are 
new  and  expensive,  and  a  large  amount  of  equipment  was 
purchased  during  1915-16,  which  brings  up  per  capita  inter- 
est on  equipment  to  nearly  three  times  the  average  cost  for 
the  other  schools.  The  per  capita  cost  for  instruction  is  also 
high  at  South  High,  largely  because  of  the  fact  that  high- 
salaried  teachers  are  used  in  the  grades  more  than  in  other 
schools,  and  spend  more  of  their  time  in  grade  work  than  is 
warranted  by  the  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in  the  grades, 
if  the  time  is  apportioned  on  the  basis  of  number  enrolled  in 
each  grade. 

The  figures  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  at  South 
High  are  not  accurate  if  the  grades  are  considered  separately, 
but  are  if  the  grades  are  considered  together.  This  is  due 
to  the  fact  that  during  the  second  semester  of  ,the  year 


COSTS  291 

studied  there  was  no  seventh  grade  and  part  of  the  year's 
time  which  is  charged  to  teachers  of  the  seventh  grade 
should  be  charged  to  the  eighth  grade. 

These  figures  show  that  the  Junior  High  is  practically  no 
more  expensive  than  the  other  units  of  the  Grand  Rapids 
system.  In  the  Junior  High  and  South  High  the  per  capita 
cost  is  highest  in  the  seventh  grade  and  falls  gradually  lower 
through  the  eighth  and  ninth  grades.  Leaving  South  High 
out  of  consideration,  the  average  per  capita  cost  of  carrying 
a  pupil  through  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades  varies 
from  $164.32  (the  lowest  figure) l  for  the  Palmer  and  Cen- 
tral High,  and  $185.78  (the  next  lowest)  for  Hall  and  Central 
High,  to  $215.82  for  Lexington  and  Union.  Junior  High, 
Union,  and  the  combination  of  Sigsbee  and  Central  High 
differ  by  only  about  five  dollars.  In  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades,  however,  the  Junior  High  is  the  most  expensive  unit 
of  the  system,  the  exceptional  South  High  being  left  out  of 
consideration. 

From  the  standpoint  of  cost  of  instruction  alone,  the  cost 
of  carrying  a  pupil  through  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth 
grades  shows  a  wider  range  among  the  various  units  of 
the  system  than  it  does  when  maintenance  and  interest  on 
equipment  are  included,  as  is  shown  by  Table  LXV. 

In  Kalamazoo,  Michigan,2  the  public  schools  are  all  ar- 
ranged on  the  same  plan.  Beginning  with  the  third  grade 

1  The  Junior-High-School  per  capita  cost  for  instruction  alone  is  14  per 
cent  higher  than  the  average  per  capita  cost  of  four  elementary  school* 
combined  with  the  ninth  grade  of  the  high  schools. 

1  This  section  of  the  report  is  drawn  from  two  studies,  one  by  a  commit- 
tee of  Kalamazoo  teachers,  Principal  J.  A.  Starkweather,  chairman;  the 
other,  made  for  this  report,  by  Professor  C.  O.  Davis  and  a  group  of  his 
graduate  students. 


292  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

TABLE  LXV 

COST  FOB  INSTRUCTION  IN  THE  SEVENTH,  EIGHTH,  AND  NINTH 
GRADES  m  CERTAIN  SCHOOLS  OF  GRAND  RAPIDS 

Junior  High $141.79  Hall  and  Central $125.72 

Union  High 145 . 66  Lexington  and  Union .  .   141 . 11 

South  High 179 . 56  Palmer  and  Central. ...   105 . 34 

Sigsbee  and  Central ...   125 . 50 

and  extending  through  the  sixth,  there  is  in  use  what  is 
called  the  "modified  Gary  system,"  under  which  the  pupils 
are  under  the  charge  of  the  regular  grade  teacher  for  half 
of  the  time,  and  for  the  remainder  of  the  school  day  they 
are  under  the  direction  of  special  teachers.  Beginning  with 
the  seventh  grade,  all  pupils  are  taught  under  the  depart- 
mental plan. 

There  are  three  junior  high  schools  in  the  city,  as  fol- 
lows :  East  Avenue,  Woodward  Avenue,  and  Portage  Street 
Schools.  There  are  three  other  schools  which  have  their 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  organized  like  the  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  in  the  junior  high  schools,  namely,  Frank 
Street,  Lake  Street,  and  Vine  Street  Schools.  Pupils  in  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  in  these  three  schools  are  allowed 
all  the  privileges  of  election  of  studies  that  are  found  in  the 
regular  junior  high  schools,  and  for  their  ninth-grade  work, 
they  transfer  to  one  of  the  junior  high  schools,  or  to  the 
ninth  grade  at  Central  High  School.  It  is  on  the  basis  of 
the  costs  in  these  six  schools  that  the  study  was  made. 

The  system  of  junior  high  schools  was  established  in 
Kalamazoo  at  the  beginning  of  the  school  year  1914-15, 
though  all  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades  had  been  con- 
ducted on  the  departmental  plan  for  several  years  before 


COSTS  293 

this  time.  According  to  Principal  Starkweather,  of  the 
Woodward  Avenue  School,  the  junior  high  school  has  as  its 
aim  the  providing  by  various  means  for  individual  differ- 
ences among  pupils,  the  providing  of  departmental  teaching 
and  exploratory  courses,  and  the  providing  of  special  train- 
ing for  pupils  who  must  leave  before  completing  the  senior- 
high-school  course. 

The  figures  are  for  the  school  year  1915-16,  and  the  cost 
of  instruction  is  based  on  the  salary  schedule  of  the  junior- 
high-school  teachers,  making  the  proper  division  of  time 
for  all  teachers  who  worked  only  part  time  in  the  schools  in 
question.  The  maintenance  cost  per  pupil  was  based  on 
the  following  items:  salaries  of  clerks  and  principals,  jan- 
itors' salaries,  supplies,  reference  books,  fuel,  apparatus, 
light  and  power,  repair  of  buildings  and  grounds,  repair  of 
equipment  and  new  equipment.  The  third  item,  interest  on 
permanent  investment,  was  added  by  the  surveying  com- 
mittee, and  was  arrived  at  by  computing  the  interest  at 
five  per  cent  on  the  valuation  of  the  buildings  and  grounds, 
and  dividing  by  the  average  number  of  pupils  enrolled  in 
each  school.  The  comparative  costs  are  presented  in  the 
following  tables. 

The  high  per  capita  costs  in  the  East  Avenue  Junior  High 
School  are  due  to  the  fact  that  high-salaried  teachers  are 
found  here  in  larger  proportion  than  in  the  other  schools. 
The  total  amounts  paid  for  salaries  each  year  in  the  three 
junior  high  schools  are  nearly  equal,  and  East  Avenue  School 
has  not  so  many  teachers  and  only  about  half  as  many 
pupils  as  the  other  two  schools.  The  lower  cost  of  instruc- 
tion in  the  Vine  Street  School  is  accounted  for  by  the  fact 


29-1 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


TABLE  LXVI 

PER  CAPITA  ANNUAL  COSTS  FOR  PUPILS  ABOVE  THE  SIXTH  GRADE 
IN  KALAMAZOO 


'  'Cost  of 
instruction 

Cost  of 
maintenance 

Cost  of 

interest 

Total 
coat 

Junior  High  Schools 
East  Avenue  

$70.13 

$11.84 

$9.18 

$91  .  15 

.Woodward  Avenue  .  . 
'Portage  Street  

47.86 

43.77 

10.87 
9.20 

7.28 
4.90 

66.01 
57.87 

Elementary  Schools 
Frank  Street  

47.55 

8.55 

2.61 

58.71 

Lake  Street  

42.09 

6.62 

4.79 

53  50 

Vine  Street  

28.80 

10.60 

4.85 

44  25 

TABLE  LXVII 

PER  CAPITA  ANNUAL  COST  OF  INSTRUCTION  IN  WOODWARD  AVENUE 
SCHOOL  OF  KALAMAZOO  IN  ALL  GRADES  BELOW  THE  SEVENTH, 
1915-16 

.93    Second  Grade $13.12 

.36    First  Grade..  .  13.47 


Sixth  Grade $  9. 

Fifth  Grade..  .11, 


Fourth  Grade 10.19    Kindergarten 1.35 

Third..  7.17 


Algebra $  5.74 

English  and  penmanship    4 . 33 

Latin  and  German 14 . 55 

Geography 5.40 

Bookkeeping   and   busi- 
ness English 40 . 25 

Science  and  physical  geo- 
graphy      7. 54 

History  and  spelling ....     3 . 98 


Arithmetic  and  spelling. .  $  2 . 95 

Art 3.30 

Cooking  and  sewing. ...     7.50 

Manual  training 7. 73 

Literature 2.21 

Music 97 

Physical  training 2.74 


COSTS  295 

TABLE  LXIX 

PER  CAPITA  COST  OF  PUPILS  IN  KALAMAZOO  SCHOOL  SYSTEM  FOB 
1915-16,  BASED  ON  INSTRUCTION,  MAINTENANCE,  AND  OPERA- 
TION 

Grades  I-IV $34.46 

Grades  V-VIII 45.78 

Junior  High  School 58 . 00 

Central  High 78.23 

that  more  pupils  are  enrolled  per  teacher,  and  as  the  build- 
ing is  near  the  Central  High  School,  pupils  in  the  grades 
who  wish  to  take  electives  usually  pass  to  the  Central  High 
School  classes  for  this  extra  work.  It  is  evident  that  the 
school  with  small  classes  has  a  very  high  cost  per  pupil  for 
instruction  and  that  the  school  with  larger  classes  has  a 
correspondingly  lower  cost.  The  cost  of  maintaining  the 
schools  per  pupil  is,  of  course,  least  in  the  building  which  has 
the  greatest  economy  in  heating  space,  provided  that  the 
building  has  also  a  full  quota  of  pupils  per  room.  Both  these 
conditions  are  satisfied  at  the  Lake  Street  School,  which  has 
large  classes  and  a  comparatively  new  heating  equipment. 
The  Kalamazoo  Committee  made  a  careful  study  of  the 
programs  of  the  three  junior  high  schools  and  of  the  enroll- 
ment in  classes,  and  found  that  if  all  the  pupils  in  certain 
elective  subjects  could  be  congregated  at  one  central  build- 
ing, there  would  result  a  saving,  in  teachers'  salaries  alone, 
of  $7200,  with  an  additional  saving  of  $1629  in  maintenance. 
If  this  congregation  were  effected,  the  per  capita  cost  of  the 
junior  high  school  would  be  reduced  to  $49.28,  an  amount 
lower  than  the  average  per  capita  cost  in  the  three  elemen- 
tary schools,  with  no  impairment  of  the  educational  pro- 


296  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

gram.    In  fact,  it  would  offer  still  further  opportunities  fo» 
provision  for  individual  differences. 

In  New  York  Dr.  Bachman1  showed  that  as  then  ad» 
ministered  the  three  intermediate  schools  required  fewer 
rooms  by  8.7  per  cent,  fewer  teachers  by  5.36  per  cent,  and 
less  equipment  in  the  shops,  kitchens,  and  gymnasiums  by 
19.11, 6.31,  and  18.17  per  cent,  respectively.  (Figures  could 
be  taken  from  the  data  of  three  elementary  schools  used, 
however,  to  show  that  they  are  more  crowded  than  the 
intermediate  schools  and  therefore  cheaper.)  He  concludes : 

In  view  of  these  differences  in  requirements  and  hence  differences 
in  cost,  if  20,000  seventh-  and  eighth-  grade  pupils  could  be  brought 
into  intermediate  schools,  the  immediate  saving  would  at  the  very 
least  be  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  erection  of  a  school  building  of 
thirty-nine  rooms,  and  for  the  annual  total  cost  of  operating  such 
a  school. 

Assistant  Superintendent  Wheeler,  of  Philadelphia,2 
states  that  the  instruction  of  ninth-grade  pupils  can  be  car- 
ried on  with  entire  satisfaction  in  the  new  type  of  elementary 
buildings  in  that  city,  which  cost  $£70  per  pupil,  whereas 
they  are  housed  in  high-school  buildings  costing  $570  per 
pupil.  As  approximately  40  per  cent  of  the  Philadelphia 
high-school  enrollment  is  in  the  ninth  grade,  he  argues  that 
the  establishment  of  junior  high  schools  would  not  only 
bring  secondary  education  much  nearer  the  homes  of  a 
larger  proportion  of  the  pupils,  but  would  also  result  in  a 
considerable  saving  to  the  city.  Superintendent  Spaulding  3 
gives  the  per  pupil  cost  in  Minneapolis  as  $235  for  ele- 
mentary schools  (grades  1  to  6),  $300  for  junior  high  schools, 

1  Report  on  Intermediate  Schools,  Committee  on  School  Inquiry,  1914. 
1  Old  Penn  Weekly,  vol.  13,  p.  1007.  s  A  Million  a  Year. 


COSTS  297 

and  $390  for  senior  high  schools.  These  costs  are  for  build- 
ings fully  equipped.  Superintendent  Chandler,  of  Richmond, 
Virginia,1  gives  the  per  pupil  cost  for  the  elementary  school 
as  $73.81  and  for  the  junior  high  school  as  $101.19.  These 
costs  are  for  building  and  heating  plant  alone. 

Superintendent  Thompson,  of  Boston,2  argues  that  junior 
high  schools  will  reduce  costs.  He  writes  that  in  Boston 

the  cost  of  elementary  education  per  capita  is  $45,  and  of  the  high 
school,  $85.  About  40  per  cent  of  the  high-school  population  is 
found  in  the  first  year.  By  the  adoption  of  the  intermediate-school 
plan  (6-3-3),  40  per  cent  of  the  expensive  high-school  education 
could  be  brought  to  a  per  capita  basis  of  something  like  $50  or  $55. 
.  .  .  The  intermediate  school  would  save  the  present  high  school 
the  embarrassment  of  receiving  large  masses  of  pupils  who  are 
destined  to  drop  out  either  in  the  first  or  second  year.  It  is  or  has 
been  assumed  that  the  greatest  loss  takes  place  at  fourteen,  or  at 
the  end  of  the  elementary-school  period,  but  in  the  city  in  question, 
pupils  drop  out  in  equal  numbers  at  the  ages  of  14,  14j,  15,  15|, 
and  16.  At  16  the  elimination  movement  is  greatest. 

In  Oakland,  California,  where  there  is  one  intermediate 
or  junior  high  school,  a  vocational  intermediate  school,  and 
a  number  of  departmentalized  grammar  schools  offering 
some  secondary  work,  Superintendent  Barker  reports  the 
cost  from  ten  to  one  hundred  per  cent  increased  over  that 
for  the  ordinary  elementary  school  work. 

There  is  no  general  agreement  as  to  the  proper  ratio  of  per 
capita  expenditure  for  secondary  and  for  elementary  schools. 
That  it  varies  tremendously  may  be  seen  from  Table  LV 
and  from  an  examination  of  surveys  and  superintendents' 
reports.  Cook  found,  in  his  General  Survey  of  Public 

1  Annual  Report  for  1915. 

2  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  1,  p.  457. 


298  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

High-School  Education  in  Colorado  (1914),  that  as  the  size 
of  the  high  school  increases  in  that  State  the  ratio  decreases. 
The  following  table  is  drawn  from  his  study : 

TABLE  LXX 

CENTRAL  TENDENCIES  OF  RATIO  OF  COSTS  OF  THE  HIGH  SCHOOL 
TO  THE  COST  OF  THE  GRADES 

Schools  wilh  average  attendance  of  Median  ratio  of  cost  per  pupil 

Fewer  than  25 2. 58 

25-50 2.30 

50-100 1 . 94 

100 1.72 

It  should  be  obvious  that  in  education  as  in  other  work 
we  get  only  what  we  pay  for.  If  the  junior-high-school 
program  brings  educational  opportunities  that  are  not  of- 
fered in  the  grades  as  now  organized,  it  will  in  all  probability 
require  the  expenditure  of  more  money.  Almost  the  only 
saving  possible,  if  educational  details  are  unchanged,  is  that 
resulting  from  the  congregation  of  enough  pupils  to  permit 
of  a  division  into  full-sized  classes.  But  there  are  many 
possible  returns  from  improved  conditions  which,  if  secured, 
will  make  for  the  greatest  economy.  Among  these  may  be 
mentioned  retention  of  pupils,  provisions  for  individual 
differences,  increased  interest,  social  direction,  and  the  like. 

The  following  list  of  questions  is  presented  to  suggest  the 
items  that  must  be  considered  in  preparing  a  budget  for  a 
reorganized  system  of  schools.  Many  of  the  questions  can- 
not be  answered  definitely  in  terms  of  money;  but  the  entire 
list  will  enable  one  to  make  a  general  balance  sheet  which 
should  clarify  thinking  as  to  what  schools  cost  or  should 
cost  and  as  to  the  true  meaning  of  economy: 


COSTS  299 

A.  Grounds,  Buildings,  and  Equipment 

1.  How  will  the  site  compare  with  that  of  other  buildings,  ele- 
mentary and  secondary,  in  per  pupil  cost  and  in  location,  size, 
and  satisfaction? 

2.  Will  there  be  an  increase  or  a  decrease  in  the  gross  amount  of 
carfare,  whether  paid  by  the  public  or  by  the  pupils?    Will  it 
make  unnecessary  an  expense,  of  money  or  of  time,  in  going 
to  "centers"  for  manual  training,  etc.? 

3.  Plow  will  the  building  compare  with  those  now  housing  the 
pupils  of  the  selected  grades?    Will  it  have  more  special  rooms 
than  elementary-school  buildings  and  fewer  than  the  high 
school?  What  will  be  the  per  capita  cost  of  each  building? 
and  what  the  relative  monetary  worth  of  the  advantages 
offered? 

4.  How  much  cheaper  will  one  central  building  be  than  several 
smaller  ones  providing  for  the  needs  of  intermediate-school 
pupils? 

5.  Will  it  afford  an  opportunity  to  use  an  old  high-school  build- 
ing, with  a  small  outlay  for  remodeling? 

6.  How  will  the  equipment  compare  with  that  in  other  buildings 
now  caring  for  similar  pupils? 

7.  Will  the  junior  high  school  affect  the  kind  and  amount  of 
supplies? 

8.  To  what  extent  will  the  congregation  and  segregation  of  pupils 
of  similar  age  and  aims  result  in  a  more  constant  and  full  use 
of  building  and  equipment,  and  hence  of  a  reduction  of  over- 
head expenses? 

9.  To  what  extent  will  the  congregation  in  a  junior  high  school 
release  for  use  by  other  pupils  space  which  must  otherwise 
be  provided? 

10.  How  much  per  pupil  is  saved  on  janitor  service,  heat,  and 
light  by  the  congregation  of  pupils?    How  much  is  lost  by  the 
proposed  increase  in  the  length  of  the  school  day? 

11.  To  what  extent  can  the  building  be  constructed  so  as  to  be 
used  also  for  continuation  and  evening  schools? 

B.  Teachers 

1.  What  effect  will  the  sex  and  quality  of  teachers  selected  have 
on  the  salaries  paid? 


300  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

2.  What  effect  on  salaries  will  there  be  because  of  an  increased 
length  of  school  day  and  of  supervision  of  extra-curricula 
activities? 

3.  To  what  extent  will  it  reduce  the  cost  of  supervision  by  having 
in  one  building  enough  teachers  to  make  it  unnecessary  for  a 
supervisor  to  travel  from  school  to  school  during  recitation 
tune? 

C.  Curricula  and  Courses  of  Study 

1.  What  is  the  monetary  worth  of  the  facilities  afforded  by  the 
new  type  of  school  in  the  making  of  new  courses  of  study? 

2.  What  is  the  monetary  worth  of  the  more  accurate  classifica- 
tion of  pupils  by  means  of  exploratory  courses  for  differenti- 
ated work  in  higher  schools  or  in  vocations? 

3.  What  is  the  monetary  worth  of  the  kind  of  education  — 
academic,  industrial,  and   social  —  provided  in  the  junior 
high  school  and  more  especially  of  its  effects  on  society? 

D.  Classes 

1.  To  what  extent  will  the  junior  high  school  by  congregation 
and  division  decrease  the  number  of  classes  of  uneconomical 
size? 

2.  To  what  extent  because  of  differentiated  curricula  will  it 
increase  the  number  of  small  classes? 

3.  To  what  extent  will  it  afford  classes  of  a  size  to  be  adequately 
taught  with  a  maximum  of  contagious  enthusiasm? 

4.  To  what  extent  will  it  release  room  which  would  need  to  be 
otherwise  provided  in  elementary  schools? 

E.  Pupils 

1.  Will  the  junior  high  school  cause  pupils  to  remain  longer  in 
school,  thus 

(a)  increasing  the  outlay  for  education? 

(6)  increasing  the  value  of  the  pupil  to  society? 

2.  Will  it  as  a  result  of  interest  and  exploratory  courses  decrease 
the  number  of  pupils  who  enter  the  high  school  and  then  drop 
out?     (Provision  must  be  made  in  preparing  a  budget  for  the 
maximum  number  of  pupils  expected  at  any  one  time.) 


COSTS  301 

3.  Will  it,  by  providing  homogeneous  groups  moving  at  rates 
suited  to  their  ability,  insure  a  reduction  of  time  for  some 
pupils  and  a  more  assured  steady  progress  for  others? 

4.  Will  it  by  presenting  better  work  of  more  obvious  worth 
reduce  the  number  of  repeaters  because  of  failure? 

F.  Effects  on  Pupils  and  Teachers 

1.  What  is  the  monetary  value  of  the  effect  of  the  junior  high 
school  on  the  interests  and  ambitions  of  pupils  and  of 
teachers? 

2.  What  is  the  effect,  direct  and  indirect,  of  the  junior  high 
school  on  public  interest  and  therefore  on  public  support? 

Only  after  considering  all  of  these  questions,  and  perhaps 
others  raised  by  local  conditions,  can  one  be  ready  to  cast 
up  accounts  and  decide  with  accuracy  whether  or  not  he 
should  organize  a  junior  high  school.  There  are  many  an- 
swers that  must  be  contingent  on  the  conception  that  one 
has  of  the  function  of  the  junior  high  school  —  for  example, 
what  sort  of  building  is  required  to  house  it?  There  are 
other  questions  the  answers  to  which  can  only  be  guessed  at 
—  questions  concerning  the  effect  of  the  new  type  of  school 
on  acceleration.  And,  finally,  there  are  a  number  of  ques- 
tions which,  even  if  they  could  be  definitely  answered,  would 
need  to  have  their  answers  transmuted  into  terms  of  mone- 
tary value  before  we  could  use  them  exactly  in  solving  the 
problem  of  cost.  Such  a  question  is  that  concerning  the 
effect  on  the  interests  of  pupils. 

But  perhaps  an  enumeration  of  the  cost  factors  involved 
toil!  make  a  consideration  of  the  problem  more  likely  to  be 
complete  and  a  decision  therefore  more  convincing.  It  is 
hoped  that  this  discussion  will  so  warn  schoolmen  that  they 
may  be  prepared  to  controvert  the  arguments  of  any  who  in 


302  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

the  discussion  of  an  educational  problem  see  only  the  amount 
of  the  financial  outlay.  For  such  people  the  easiest  way  to 
save  money  is  to  eliminate  pupils. 

The  conclusion,  as  usual,  is  that  whatever  is  bought  must 
be  paid  for.  Here  and  there  in  matters  of  organization  there 
may  be  some  saving  of  money  by  means  of  the  junior  high 
school;  but  if  the  education  of  pupils  of  this  intermediate 
period  is  to  be  materially  improved,  we  must  materially 
increase  our  school  budgets.  And  the  public  when  increas- 
ing the  budget  should  demand  that  the  proposed  program 
for  reform  be  sound  and  complete,  and  reasonably  assuring 
of  success  under  local  conditions. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

RESULTS 

WHAT  are  the  results  of  the  organization  of  junior  high 
schools?  This  natural  question,  which  is  often  propounded, 
is  for  several  reasons  difficult  to  answer  satisfactorily.  In 
the  first  place,  the  oldest  of  the  new  type  of  schools  have 
been  in  existence  less  than  a  decade,  a  space  of  time  too 
brief  for  the  accomplishment  of  many  of  the  possible  re- 
sults; and  it  is  seldom  if  ever  that  the  internal  reorganiza- 
tion is  completely  made  at  the  beginning.  In  the  second 
place,  results  that  are  found  in  one  school  may  not  with 
confidence  be  expected  in  others  inasmuch  as  the  name 
"  junior  high  school  "  is  applied  to  institutions  of  widely 
varying  characteristics.  In  the  third  place,  there  are  in  re- 
organized schools  many  important  factors  that  are  not 
always  taken  into  account  —  factors  like  the  personality  of 
the  principal  and  teachers,  the  geographical  location  of  the 
school,  the  nature  of  the  educational  needs  of  the  com- 
munity, the  rate  of  growth  of  the  city,  enforcement  of  the 
compulsory  education  laws,  and  the  like.  And  finally,  some 
results  are  too  intangible  to  be  measured  by  the  available 
technique.  But  despite  these  difficulties,  there  is  some 
evidence  that  is  of  sufficient  value  to  be  considered. 

Enrollment,  attendance,  and  retention.  Of  214  junior 
high  schools  reporting,  all  but  two  state  that  reorganization 
has  increased  the  number  of  pupils  in  the  grades  con- 
cerned. One  hundred  and  sixty,  or  74.8  per  cent,  believe 


304  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

that    it    has   improved  the  regularity  of  pupils'  attend- 
ance. 

From  data  in  the  annual  report  of  the  Commissioner  of 
Education  for  1917  and  hi  Ayres'  Child  Accounting  in  the 
Public  Schools  (1915)  the  distribution  of  pupils  by  grades 
in  the  United  States  and  in  Cleveland  has  been  computed 
as  in  Table  LXXI.  It  must  be  noted  that  these  figures  do 
not  take  into  account  the  normal  increase  in  school  popula- 
tion. By  these  percentages  one  may  judge  somewhat  of  the 
success  of  any  school  system  in  holding  its  pupils.1 

TABLE  LXXI 

SHOWING  THE  DISTRIBUTION  BY  PERCENTAGES  OF  PUPILS  IN  THE 
UNITED  STATES  (1917)  AND  IN  CLEVELAND  (1915) 

Grade  United  States  Cleveland 

1  21.6  11.8 

2  13.7  11.8 

3  12.8  11.8 

4  12.3  11.8 

5  10.4  11.7 

6  8.5  11.0 

7  7.0  9.4 

8  5.9  7.4 
I  3.1  4.8 

H                             2.0  3.4 

III  1.4  2.4 

IV  1.1  2.2 
99.8  99.5 

Of  238  junior  high  schools  reporting  on  the  matter  of  re- 
tention, all  but  two  state  that  reorganization  has  resulted 
in  an  increased  persistence  of  pupils.  In  the  North  Central 

1  The  percentages  as  given  for  the  United  States  are  affected  by  the  fact 
that  in  seven  Southern  States  there  are  only  seven  grades  in  the  elementary 
schools. 


RESULTS  305 

Territory,  however,  Davis  found  only  44.7  per  cent  of  prin- 
cipals who  believe  that  the  junior  high  school  improves 
retention. 

A  number  of  schoolmen  supplemented  their  answers  to 
the  questionnaire  by  statements  and  figures.  Superinten- 
dent Huff,  of  Holstein,  Iowa,  wrote: 

More  rural  students  are  entering,  and  practically  all  students 
remain  in  school  beyond  the  eighth  grade,  while  before  the  junior 
high  school  was  established  at  least  fifty  per  cent  dropped  out 
there. 

Superintendent  Harris,  of  Ellen ville,  New  York,  wrote: 

I  am  sure  that  our  work  as  now  carried  on  is  more  interesting  to 
the  pupils  and  that  therefore  we  are  holding  our  pupils  longer. 
The  following  facts  seem  to  support  this  belief :  Last  year  we  regis- 
tered 30  per  cent  more  resident  seventh-  and  eighth-grade  pupils 
than  we  registered  during  the  last  year  of  our  old  system,  and  this 
in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the  number  of  pupils  of  school  age  had 
decreased  slightly  more  than  ten  per  cent.  .  .  .  During  the  last  two 
years  that  we  had  the  grade  system  we  lost  exactly  66f  per  cent 
more  seventh-  and  eighth-grade  pupils,  in  proportion  to  the  num- 
ber that  we  had,  through  the  issuing  of  work  certificates,  than  we 
have  lost  in  the  same  way  since  the  junior  high  school  was  estab- 
lished. 

Principal  MacCurdy,  of  Tulsa,  Oklahoma,  wrote: 

This  year  is  the  first  time  we  have  been  able  to  enroll  and  retain 
100  per  cent  of  the  pupils  graduating  from  the  elementary  grades. 

These  statements  are  representative  of  many  that  were 
received. 

Two  additional  encouraging  facts  were  several  times 
volunteered :  first,  that  the  reorganization  frequently  draws 
back  into  school  pupils  who  had  dropped  out;  and, 
second,  that  the  holding  power  of  the  schools  is  increased, 


306  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

especially  for  boys.  The  average  percentage  of  boys  in  the 
seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades  at  Grand  Rapids  for  the 
four  years  preceding  and  for  the  five  years  following  the 
establishment  of  the  junior  high  school  is  shown  in  Table 
LXXII: 


Grade  Before  After 

7  46.7  48.6 

8  46.4  46.8 

9  48.9  51.1 

Statistical  data  concerning  the  retention  of  pupils  have 
been  reported  by  a  number  of  schools.  Superintendent 
Foster,  of  Dansville,  New  York,  wrote  that,  after  the  es- 
tablishment of  his  junior  high  school 

the  elimination  from  the  seventh  and  eighth  years  decreased  20 
per  cent,  and  the  enrollment  increased  19  per  cent.  For  the  four 
years  before  the  parochial-school  pupils  came  for  junior-high-school 
work  1  the  average  number  entering  from  those  schools  was  twelve. 
For  the  past  two  years  it  is  17,  an  increase  of  41  per  cent.  The 
average  number  entering  the  senior  high  school  for  the  past  two 
years  is  47  per  cent  greater  than  that  entering  during  the  preceding 
four  years. 

Parks  2  reports  the  percentages  of  elimination  at  Cuba, 
New  York,  for  three  years  before  and  for  two  years  after 
the  establishment  of  the  junior  high  school.  The  data  are 
shown  in  Table  LXXIII: 

1  See  page  108-9. 

1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  2,  p.  458. 


RESULTS  307 

TABLE  LXXIII 

SHOWING  PERCENTAGES  OF  ELIMINATION  AT  CUBA,  NEW  YORK, 
BEFORE  AND  AFTER  ESTABLISHMENT  OF  A  JUNIOR  HlGH  SCHOOL 

IN  1913-14 

Year  Grade  VII  Grade  VIII 

1911  7.1  45.8 

1912  17.3  46.1 

1913  10.0  47.4 

1914  4.8  5.5 

1915  0.0  25.0 

At  Topeka,  Kansas,  the  percentage  of  the  high  seventh- 
grade  pupils  in  the  Sumner  and  Quincy  Schools  that  reached 
the  low  ninth  grade  before  the  reorganization  of  these 
schools  was  32.3;  the  percentage  afterward  was  59.5. x 

Johnstown,  Pennsylvania,  reported  that  during  the 
two  years  before  the  establishment  of  the  junior  high 
school  70.7  and  71  per  cent  of  the  eighth-grade  graduates 
entered  the  ninth  grade,  and  that  the  next  year  83  per  cent 
entered.  Superintendent  Weet  2  reported  that  at  Rochester 
the  percentage  of  retention  from  the  eighth  grade  to  the 
ninth  increased  from  51  per  cent  to  94.5.  And  in  Public 
School  159,  New  York  City,  "  about  three  times  as  many 
girls  cover  the  ninth  grade  of  work  as  under  the  old  plan 
which  transferred  them  at  the  end  of  the  eighth  grade  to 
high  school." 

Stetson,  in  his  "Statistical  Study  of  the  Junior  High 
School  from  the  Point  of  View  of  Enrollment,"  3  reported 
the  data  in  Table  LXXIV,  which  show  a  marked  increase 

1  Superintendent's  Report,  1915-16. 

8  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  2,  pp.  435-46. 

3  School  Review,  vol.  26,  pp.  233-45. 


308 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


in  the  percentage  of  pupils  retained  for  the  ninth  grade 
after  the  junior  high  school  was  established  in  1911-12. 
The  103  percentage  of  retention  in  1915-16  is  explained 
by  the  application  of  a  compulsory-education  law  to  compel 
pupils  completing  parochial  schools  to  attend  the  ninth 
grade. 

TABLE  LXXIV 

SHOWING  THE  ENROLLMENT  OF  THE  EIGHTH  AND  NINTH  GRADES 
m  GRAND  RAPIDS,  1907-16 


Year 

Eighth  Grade 

Year 

Ninth  Grade 

Percentage 
retained  in 
Ninth  Grade 

1907-8 

946 

1908-9 

635 

67.1 

1908-9 

1,039 

1909-10 

626 

60.2 

1909-10 

1,035 

1910-11 

693 

65.0 

1910-11 

992 

1911-12 

713 

72.8 

1911  12 

1,072 

1912-13 

804 

75.0 

1912-13 

990 

1913-14 

829 

83.7 

1913-14 

1,140 

1914-15 

984 

86.3 

1914-15 

1,097 

1915-16 

1,135 

103.0 

1915-16 

1,296 

1916-17 

No  record 

This  table  shows  conclusively  [Stetson  states]  that  previous  to 
the  intermediate  type  of  organization  the  percentage  of  students 
who  remained  in  the  ninth  grade  was  steadily  on  the  decline  [?]  and 
that  a  smaller  percentage  was  held  over.  It  also  shows  that  as 
soon  as  the  junior  high  schools  were  organized  the  percentage  in  the 
ninth  grade  increased  steadily. 

A  study  made  for  this  report  by  Professor  C.  O.  Davis 
confirms  the  fact  that  in  Grand  Rapids  the  junior  high  school 
holds  pupils  well  from  the  eighth  grade  to  the  ninth;  for 


RESULTS  308 

the  one  promotion  period  considered  (February,  1916)  the 
junior-high-school  record  is  slightly  better  than  that  for 
six  elementary  schools  and  not  quite  so  good  as  that  for  the 
South  High  School  (grades  VII-XII)  or  that  for  the  Union 
School  (grades  I-XI).  The  data  are  shown  in  Table  LXXV. 

TABLE  LXXV 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGE  OF  EIGHTH-GRADE  GRADUATES  FROM 
SEVERAL  GRAND  RAPIDS  SCHOOLS  ENTERING  HIGHER  SCHOOLS, 
FEBRUARY,  1916 

Six  elementary  schools 83 . 5 

Junior  High  School 85 . 6 

South  High  School  (VII-XII) 96 . 1 

Union  School  (I-XI) 87.0 

The  fact  that  the  junior  high  school  draws  from  one  dis- 
trict of  more  or  less  similar  economic  and  social  conditions, 
while  the  elementary  schools  are  in  various  parts  of  the  city, 
serves  to  render  inaccurate  absolute  conclusions  from  these 
data. 

In  Los  Angeles  the  Intermediate  School  Principals  Asso- 
ciation prepared  the  data  in  Table  LXXVI,  a  part  of  which 
has  been  published  elsewhere.  This  table  shows  that  during 
four  full  years  only  6.5  and  5.2  per  cent  of  elimination  may 
justly  be  charged  against  the  intermediate  schools  at  the 
end  of  the  eighth  and  the  ninth  'grade  respectively. 

In  1917  a  study  1  was  made  by  Briggs  of  402  pupils  who 
had  graduated  from  the  Los  Angeles  intermediate  schools 
in  1913  and  1914,  and  of  413  pupils,  similar  in  economic 
status,  who  had  completed  the  elementary  schools  in  1912 
and  1913,  these  pupils  being  traced  as  far  as  possible  by 
1  Journal  of  Educational  Research,  November,  1920. 


310 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


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RESULTS  811 

their  records  until  they  had  left  school.  The  study  showed 
that  of  the  pupils  completing  the  eighth  grade  65.9  per  cent 
of  the  elementary-school  group  entered  the  high  schools  and 
87.2  per  cent  of  the  intermediate-school  group  remained  for 
the  ninth  grade.  In  the  tenth  grade  were  found  55.8  and 
65.5  per  cents,  respectively.  One  reason  why  these  percent- 
ages are  considerably  lower  than  those  in  Table  LXXVI  is 
the  fact  that  they  include  only  the  pupils  who  were  found 
to  be  actually  in  attendance  in  Los  Angeles  schools. 

In  the  study  just  cited  it  is  shown  that  after  pupils  reach 
the  tenth  grade,  whether  they  were  prepared  in  elementary 
schools  or  in  junior  high  schools,  they  persist  in  practically 
the  same  percentages  through  the  higher  grades  to  gradua- 
tion. 

Academic  success.  The  academic  success  of  pupils  can- 
not be  accurately  known  by  a  study  of  the  marks  assigned 
by  teachers;  but  the  testimony  of  193  out  of  195  principals 
that  the  per  cent  of  promotion  has  been  increased  since  re- 
organization is  at  least  indicative  of  an  adjustment  of  the 
junior  high  school  to  its  pupils. 

Lacking  satisfactory  data  from  the  application  of  stand- 
ardized tests,  we  may  measure  the  academic  success  of 
junior  high  schools  by  the  relative  per  cent  of  pupils  passing 
uniform  examinations  and  by  their  comparative  records  in 
advanced  classes  of  the  secondary  school.  Superintendent 
Foster,  of  Danville,  New  York,  writes : 

That  the  junior  high  school  has  not  interfered  with  the  work  in 
the  three  It's  is  shown  by  the  fact  that  the  percentage  of  students 
who  have  passed  the  Regents'  preliminary  examinations  in  the 
past  two  years  is  larger  than  during  the  preceding  three  years. 
The  work  done  in  the  first  year  senior  high  school  is  of  a  higher 


312 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


character  than  it  was  before  the  inauguration  of  our  junior  high 
school  department. 

It  must  be  obvious,  however,  that  academic  success  de- 
pends on  many  factors  besides  the  organization  of  an  in- 
dependent intermediate  school;  consequently  we  may  ex- 
pect wide  variation  in  results. 

The  reports  are  not  always  favorable.  In  New  York  City, 
where  ninth  grades  were  added  to  a  number  of  elementary 
schools  without  any  material  change  in  the  equipment  or 
teaching  force,  uniform  examinations  were  given  in  June, 
1917,  to  the  pupils  in  from  two  to  seven  intermediate 
schools  and  to  check  groups  in  senior  high  schools.  The  re- 
sults, as  shown  in  Table  LXXVII,  are  very  unsatisfactory. 

TABLE  LXXVII 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGE  OF  INTERMEDIATE  AND  SENIOR  HIGH 
SCHOOL  PUPILS  IN  NEW  YORK  PASSING  IN  CERTAIN  SUBJECT 
EXAMINATIONS 


INTERMEDIATE  SCHOOLS 

SENIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS 

Number 
of  schools 

Number 
of  -pupils 

Per  ceni 
passing 

Number 
of  schools 

Number 
of  pupils 

Per  cent 
passing 

Algebra  

7 

5 
5 

2 
4 
3 

325 

296 
172 
52 
226 
115 

31.0 

34.5 
45.9 
57.6 
18.5 
60.8 

9 

1 

1 
1 
1 
1 

6333 

155 
276 
219 
296 
186 

69.5 

54.8 
63.6 
94.9 
60.8 
56.5 

Commercial 
Arithmetic..  . 
Latin  

French  

Spanish  

German  

It  seems  to  me  [writes  Associate  Superintendent  John  L.  Tilds- 
ley  *]  that  this  failure  to  do  good  work  is  due  in  large  part  to  the 

1  Report  of  Superintendent  of  Schools  of  New  York,  N.Y.,  1917. 


RESULTS  313 

attempt  to  conduct  the  intermediate  schools  as  a  money-saving 
scheme,  and  to  the  fact  that  teachers  are  doing  this  work  who  are 
not  equipped  for  it,  and  to  the  further  fact  that  the  work  has  not 
been  supervised  by  the  principals  and  heads  of  departments  with 
the  thoroughness  and  ability  with  which  this  supervision  is  done 
ha  the  high  schools. 

Success  in  advanced  grades,  like  that  in  uniform  examina- 
tions, is  dependent  on  more  factors  than  the  organization  of 
junior  high  schools.  Reorganization  may  be  followed  by 
an  increased  percentage  of  pupils  passing  their  high-school 
subjects,  or  an  improvement  in  the  marks  assigned,  as  at 
Cuba,  New  York,1  where  the  average  mark  in  the  ninth 
grade  rose  from  73.2  to  84.8;  or,  as  will  be  shown,  it  may  be 
followed  by  equally  unsatisfactory  conditions.  In  each  in- 
stance cause  and  effect  must  be  found  before  the  junior 
high  school  can  justly  receive  credit  or  discredit. 

Studying  the  records  of  404  high-school  pupils  at  Grand 
Rapids,  one  half  of  them  prepared  in  the  junior  high  school 
and  the  other  half  in  the  grammar  grades,  Stetson  a  found 
that  the  difference  in  the  form  of  organization  seems  to  have 
had  very  little  influence  on  the  advanced  scholastic  work, 
in  English  or  in  mathematics.  He  agrees  with  the  Grand 
Rapids  School  Survey  that  the  reorganization  of  secondary 
education,  especially  as  concerns  the  curriculum  and  its 
administration,  has  not  been  carried  far  enough. 

Studying  the  records  of  271  graduates  'in  1916  of  the 
Central  High  School  of  Grand  Rapids,  105  of  them  pre- 
pared by  the  junior  high  school  and  the  remainder  by  the 
conventional  elementary  grades,  Davis  found  similar  re- 

1  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  vol.  2,  p.  458. 

2  School  Review,  vol.  25,  pp.  617-36. 


314  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

suits.  Except  in  the  case  of  English,  where  the  advantage 
is  with  the  conventional  schools,  there  is  no  marked  differ- 
ence between  pupils  attributable  to  their  preparation.  It 
seems  clear  that  the  type  of  school  by  which  the  pupils  of 
Grand  Rapids  are  prepared  for  higher  secondary  education 
is  a  relatively  unimportant  factor  so  far  as  their  later 
academic  records  are  concerned. 

In  the  study  at  Los  Angeles,  to  which  reference  has  been 
made,1  it  was  found  that  in  the  opinion  of  the  high-school 
teachers  the  intermediate-school  pupils  who  continued 
their  electives  were  not  adequately  prepared.  A  number  of 
them  were  after  trial  put  back  into  lower  classes,  and  only 
22  per  cent  of  the  remainder  received  marks  as  high  as  in 
their  preparatory  schools.  Probably  no  satisfactory  articu- 
lation of  work  between  schools  is  possible  unless  there  are 
either  very  detailed  syllabi  or  else  objective  standards  for 
the  measurement  of  results. 

The  extent  to  which  pupils  continue  in  the  high  schools 
the  subjects  elected  in  intermediate  schools  was  also  studied 
at  Los  Angeles.  The  results,  which  are  presented  in  Table 
LXXVIII,  are  far  from  satisfactory.  Only  39.2  per  cent  of 
the  intermediate-school  electives  were  continued  in  high 
schools ;  and  of  the  number  continued  62.3  per  cent,  or  24.4  per 
cent  of  the  original  number,  were  continued  successfully,  either 
in  classes  of  advanced  or  of  the  same  grade.  The  percent- 
ages on  the  basis  of  the  entire  number  who  took  electives 
in  grades  VII-IX,  including  those  who  did  not  enter  high 
schools,  would  of  course  be  much  smaller.  In  so  far  as  it  is 
advantageous  for  pupils  to  learn  early  that  they  have  little 

1  Page  309. 


RESULTS 


315 


TABLE  LXXVIII 

SHOWING  THE  EXTENT  TO  WHICH  INTERMEDIATE-SCHOOL  ELECTIVES 
WERE  CONTINUED  IN  LOS  ANGELES  HlGH  SCHOOLS 


Number  of  electees 

Number  of  pupils 

Per  ctnt  of  pupils 

in  same  subjects 

Subjects 

electing  subjects 
in  intermediate 

electing  the  same 
subjects  in  high 

by  the  pupils  in 
high  schools,  but 

schools 

schools 

not  in  intermediate 

schools 

Latin  

34 

35 

12 

German  

28 

25 

11 

French  

19 

67 

5 

Spanish  

95 

44 

9 

Bookkeeping  .... 

47 

28 

5 

Stenography  .... 

58 

38 

6 

Totals  

281 

89 

48 

or  no  fitness  or  need  for  certain  subjects,  this  record  may 
be  encouraging;  but  certainly  it  does  not  manifest  that  the 
intermediate  schools  of  Los  Angeles  are  effective  in  for- 
warding pupils  in  subjects  of  secondary-school  rank. 

An  even  less  satisfactory  showing  of  results  is  presented 
in  Tables  LXXIX-LXXXI,  which  are  drawn  from  an  un- 
published study  made  in  Los  Angeles  by  Principal  Robert 
A.  Thompson,  of  the  Sentous  Intermediate  School.  Table 
LXXIX  shows  a  surprisingly  large  amount  of  elimination 
and  retardation  in  the  elected  subjects  during  the  junior-high- 
school  course.  No  subject  holds  as  many  as  half  of  its  pupils 
to  normal  progress  for  three  years.  But  the  seriousness  of 
the  condition  becomes  more  apparent  from  Table  LXXX. 
This  shows  that  of  the  pupils  who  were  traced  to  the  high 
schools  (35.6  per  cent  of  the  original  number)  only  30  to 
45  per  cent  in  the  six  subjects  had  made  normal  progress. 


316 


THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 


TABLE  LXXIX 

SHOWING  THE  PERCENTAGES  OP  INTERMEDIATE-SCHOOL  PUPILS 
IN  Los  ANGELES  CARRYING  ELECTIVE  SUBJECTS  SUCCESSFULLY 


(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

Per  cent  of  (I) 

completing 

High  IX  with 

Per  cent  of  (I) 

Number  of 

the  normal  2 

carrying  sub- 

pupils in 

units  of  credit, 

ject  through 

Total  of  (2) 

Low  VII, 

with  mark  of 

High  IX,  but 

and  (3) 

March,  1914 

A  or  B,  which 

receiving  mark 

is  required  for 

below  A  or  B 

full  promotion 

French  

116 

18.1 

20.7 

38.8 

German.  ....... 

165 

17.0 

26.7 

43.7 

Latin  

105 

18.1 

31.4 

49.5 

Spanish  

596 

10.6 

16.4 

27.0 

Stenography  

223 

8.6 

18.0 

26.6 

Bookkeeping.  .  .  . 

198 

10.1 

21.2 

31.3 

Of  these  normal  pupils,  from  27.8  to  63.6  successfully  passed 
the  first  year  of  continued  work  in  the  high  school.  But  of 
the  entire  number  promoted  to  high  school  only  from  10 
to  27  per  cent  passed  in  the  Low  XI  grade  classes,  where 
the  pupils  were  normally  expected  to  be.  From  20  to  33.3 
per  cent  of  all  transferred  pupils  passed  in  the  subjects  in 
some  lower  class,  in  which  they  were  placed  because  of  low 
marks  in  the  intermediate  schools  or  because  of  unsatisfac- 
tory work  in  Low  XI.  From  0  to  22.9  of  the  pupils  failed  in 
high-school  classes,  and  from  30.8  to  63.3  per  cent  dropped 
the  subjects.  The  full  failure  in  articulation  between  the 
lower  and  upper  schools  is  not  realized,  however,  until 
Table  LXXXI  is  studied.  This  shows  that  in  the  fourth 
year  after  beginning  the  elected  secondary-school  subjects 


RESULTS 
TABLE  LXXX 


317 


SHOWING  THE  SUCCESS  OF  INTERMEDIATE-SCHOOL  PUPILS  IN  Los 
ANGELES  WITH  ELECTIVE  SUBJECTS  CONTINUED  IN  HIGH  SCHOOLS 


(1) 

(2) 

(3) 

(4) 

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

^| 

S^ 

|| 

.«  s 

y* 

|| 

•« 

.s 

O>  Ss 

2  a 

e 

'S.  s; 

*5  "** 

^3  8 

s  ~e 

C-'xs 

£& 

,g  9* 

^^ 

§•1^ 

it 

8,8 

*•» 

V 

^^^ 

's^ 

tj     ^ 

**^ 

**->  ** 

il 

8,1 

pi 

w 

*  - 

§1 

«  5 

^a  g 
"S'w  o 

«1 

"e  ** 

%>  *^ 

1  8 

5*1 

«  g  . 

fe~ 

fe^^. 

fe  *  § 

».  _ 

to  ^-. 

b^. 

*S  3 

R*  S  o 

ft*< 

«s  C^ 

Os  g^S 

°s3 

French  

26 

42.3 

63.6 

27.0 

27.0 

15.4 

30.8 

German  

40 

45.0 

27.8 

12.5 

30.0 

5.0 

52.5 

Latin  

35 

40.0 

35.7 

14.3 

20.0 

22.9 

42.9 

Spanish  .... 

92 

42.4 

43.6 

18.5 

25.0 

14.1 

42.4 

Stenography  . 

3Q 

40.0 

33.3 

13.3 

33.3 

0.0 

53.3 

Bookkeeping  . 

SO 

30.0 

33.3 

10.0 

23.3 

3.3 

63.3 

TABLE  LXXXI 

SHOWING  THE  PER  CENTS  OF  INTERMEDIATE  SCHOOL  PUPILS  IN 
LOS  ANGELES  CONTINUING  ELECTIVE  SUBJECTS  SUCCESSFULLY 
FOR  FOUR  YEARS 


Pupils  in 
Low  VII 

Per  cent  of  (1) 
successful  in 
Low  XI,  nor- 
mal progress, 
in  fourth  year 
from  beginning 
subject 

Per  cent  of  (1) 
successful  in 
classes  below 
Low  XI,  in 
fourth  year 
from  beginning 
subject 

Total  per  cent 
of  pupils  suc- 
cessful in  any 
class  in  fourth 
year  from  be- 
ginning subject 

French  

116 
165 
105 
596 

223 
198 

6.0 
3.0 
4.8 
2.8 
1.8 
1.5 

6.0 
7.3 
6.7 
8.8 
4.5 
3.5 

12.0 
10.3 
11.5 
0.6 
6.3 
5.0 

German  

Latin  

Spanish  

Stenography  .  . 
Bookkeeping.  . 

318  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

only  from  1.5  to  6  per  cent  of  the  pupils  were  continuing 
with  normal  progress,  and  from  3.5  to  7.3  per  cent  of  them, 
though  retarded,  were  continuing  these  subjects  in  the  high 
schools  three  and  a  half  years  later. 

On  these  data  Principal  Thompson  comments  as  follows: 

Spanish  begins  with  an  enrollment  of  596  and  just  three  and  a 
half  years  later  has  only  seventeen  of  these  pupils  left  in  the  classes 
where  they  would  be  expected.  The  record  of  other  subjects  in 
the  list  is  scarcely  better.  It  is  easy  to  say  that  there  are  others 
besides  the  seventeen  .  .  .  who  are  doing  successful  work.  It  is 
easy  to  say  that  many  have  moved  from  the  city  and  have  thus 
depleted  the  classes.  It  is  easy  to  say  that  all  of  those  596  who 
took  work  even  for  one  term,  or  for  one  month,  obtained  some 
educational  value  from  the  experience.  But  no  matter  what  we 
say,  the  cold  fact  remains,  and  the  figures  are  too  appalling  to  be 
explained  away.  All  of  these  conditions  enumerated  to  explain 
the  figures  do  exist,  and  are  very  real,  and  will  continue  to  be  very 
real.  Can  we  then  afford  to  go  ahead  term  after  term  carrying 
large  beginning  classes  through  weeks  of  expensive  instruction  in 
the  seventh  grade,  and  carrying  very  small  ninth  grade  classes 
that  are  still  more  expensive  in  order  to  get  these  few  boys  and 
girls  ready  to  fit  into  a  Low  XI  class  in  high  school?  Are  there 
not  other  subjects  that  will  be  far  more  valuable  for  all  seventh 
grade  pupils  than  those  we  are  offering? 

These  tables  raise  a  number  of  grave  questions  which 
must  be  considered  by  all  administrators  who  are  reorganiz- 
ing curricula  for  junior  high  schools.  When  only  from  6.6 
to  12  per  cent  of  pupils  who  elect  a  foreign  language  are 
successfully  carrying  the  subject  in  any  class  four  years 
later,  the  conclusion  seems  inevitable  that  in  the  beginning 
there  should  be  offered  exploratory  and  revealing  courses 
composed  largely  of  material  justifiable  to  the  extent 
taken.1  Many  of  the  pupils  eliminated  from  the  courses 
1  See  pages  165-174. 


RESULTS  319 

as  offered  doubtless  had  small  aptitudes  for  the  subjects 
elected  in  the  intermediate  school,  and  thus  the  high  schools 
were  relieved  of  the  obligation  to  offer  them  more  expensive 
instruction  in  these  subjects  later. 

The  implied  criticism  is  less  of  the  intermediate  schools 
than  of  the  type  of  elementary  work  generally  offered.  The 
condition  would  seem  relatively  less  bad  if  we  knew  the 
per  cent  of  Los  Angeles  high-school  pupils  who  continued 
their  electives  in  foreign  languages  for  four  full  years.  Al- 
though this  is  not  known,  we  may  consider  for  the  sake  of 
comparison  the  fact  that  in  the  Central  High  School  at 
Grand  Rapids  the  per  cent  of  pupils  taking  Latin  and  Ger- 
man for  the  fourth  year,  successfully  or  unsuccessfully, 
was  only  15.6.  The  per  cent  of  pupils  continuing  these 
languages  one,  two,  and  three  years  was  18.3,  52.3,  and 
13.8  respectively.  It  was  also  found  at  Grand  Rapids  that 
a  much  larger  percentage  of  pupils  who  begin  their  elec- 
tives in  the  eighth  grade  continue  them  for  three  years 
than  do  those  pupils  who  begin  them  in  the  ninth  grade. 

Interest.  Whatever  the  statistical  results  of  the  achieve- 
ment of  the  pioneer  junior  high  schools,  which  we  must 
recognize  have  not  fully  realized  the  possibilities  through 
reorganization,  the  principals  believe  that  there  have  been 
an  increase  of  interest  on  the  part  of  pupils,  an  improved 
school  spirit,  and  better  community  support.  In  the  ques- 
tionnaire returns  220  record  their  belief  in  an  increase  of 
pupil  interest;  234,  with  two  dissenting  opinions,  hi  an  im- 
provement in  school  spirit;  and  172,  with  one  dissent,  in 
better  community  support.  Davis  found  that  from  78.2 
to  79.9  per  cent  of  the  principals  in  the  North  Central 


320  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

Territory  believe  that  the  junior  high  schools  have  pleased 
the  parents,  teachers,  and  administrators;  and  that  from 
61.4  to  69.6  per  cent  believe  that  they  furnish  better  social 
and  moral  conditions  and  turn  out  pupils  better  socially 
equipped. 

From  many  letters  volunteered  by  principals  at  Auburn, 
Maine;  Berkeley  and  Los  Angeles,  California;  Chelsea, 
Massachusetts;  Clinton,  Iowa;  Dansville  and  Ellen ville, 
New  York;  Hot  Springs,  Arkansas;  Norfolk,  Nebraska; 
Richmond  and  Tippecanoe  County,  Indiana;  and  other 
places,  there  is  room  to  quote  only  the  following: 

Our  work  as  now  carried  on  is  more  interesting  to  the  pupils,  and 
therefore  we  are  hokling  them  in  school  longer.  My  belief  that 
the  work  is  more  interest,ing  is  supported  by  the  statement  of  the 
pupils.  In  answer  to  the  question  whether  they  prefer  the  new 
plan  and  why,  90  per  cent  expressed  a  preference  for  the  junior 
high  school,  40  per  cent  giving  as  their  reason  the  advantages  of 
promotion  by  subject.  Two  other  reasons  which  stood  out  were 
the  opportunities  for  election  of  subjects  and  the  fact  that  the  work 
is  more  pleasant  when  there  is  a  change  of  teachers  from  period  to 
period.  Not  one  of  us,  faculty  or  board  of  education,  would  con- 
sider for  a  moment  going  back  to  the  old  plan.  (Ellenville.) 

The  change  to  the  junior  high  plan  has  had  a  wonderful  effect. 
The  introduction  of  new  subjects  and  a  revision  of  the  content  of 
the  old  with  a  modification  in  methods  of  teaching  have  greatly 
stimulated  the  children's  interest  in  school  work.  There  has  been 
greater  harmony  between  pupils  and  teachers,  and  a  more  friendly 
spirit  has  been  clearly  evident.  Both  have  been  happy  in  their 
work  and  much  pleased  with  the  new  arrangement.  The  disci- 
pline has  been  easier,  and  undesirable  tension  has  been  approach- 
ing the  minimum  rapidly.  The  pupils  go  about  their  work  in  a 
much  more  business-like  way  and  are  more  thoughtful  and  depend- 
able. They  have  learned  to  make  a  better  use  of  their  study 
periods,  and  the  lessons  are  better  prepared.  With  this  has  come 
an  increased  power  of  initiative.  The  first  of  the  year  it  seemed 


RESULTS  821 

best  to  allow  them  more  liberty  of  action  in  passing  to  classes  and 
to  the  basement,  in  order  that  they  might  have  a  greater  chance  to 
learn  self-control  through  practice.  The  result  has  been  gratify- 
ing. The  junior  high  school  has  put  into  the  ninth  year  an  enthusi- 
asm that  seemed  to  be  lacking  in  former  years  when  pupils  had 
practically  to  repeat  work  they  had  already  been  over.  I  have 
taken  pains  to  question  both  my  corps  of  teachers  and  the  pupils 
concerning  this  new  arrangement  and  I  find  the  answers  practi- 
cally unanimous  in  its  favor.  No  teacher  wishes  to  go  back  into 
regular  grade  work,  and  the  pupils  express  themselves  as  much 
pleased  at  the  change.  (Chelsea.) 

In  conclusion,  it  must  be  repeated  that  the  facts  and 
opinions  cited  are  to  be  considered  chiefly  for  the  schools 
furnishing  them;  other  conditions  doubtless  would  furnish 
different  results.  But  in  so  far  as  these  data  are  representa- 
tive, they  show  that  junior  high  schools  do  tend  to  in- 
crease the  enrollment  of  pupils  of  early  adolescence,  es- 
pecially of  boys,  to  retain  them  longer  in  school,  to  bridge 
the  gap  between  the  elementary  grades  and  the  high  school, 
to  furnish  better  provisions  for  pupils  of  varying  abilities 
and  needs,  and  to  increase  the  interest,  school  spirit,  and 
community  support.  On  the  other  hand,  the  data  show  that 
much  yet  remains  to  be  done  in  the  rewriting  of  courses  of 
study  and  in  the  improvement  of  instruction,  particularly 
in  academic  subjects  to  be  continued  in  high  schools.  The 
junior  high  school  must  still  be  considered  an  opportunity 
rather  than  an  achievement. 


CHAPTER  XIV 
IN  CONCLUSION 

THE  arguments  for  a  reorganization  of  secondary  education 
so  as  to  provide  some  form  of  junior  high  school  are  now 
generally  accepted  as  sound.  The  broad  discussion  and 
debate  at  teachers'  meetings  and  in  educational  magazines 
a  few  years  ago  have  given  place,  as  a  survey  of  programs 
and  tables  of  contents  shows,  to  questions  concerning  the 
means  of  securing  the  best  reorganization  of  the  school  sys- 
tem both  as  a  whole  and  in  its  details. 

As  has  been  shown,  the  progress  of  the  junior-high-school 
movement  has  been  astonishingly  rapid.  Recommended 
by  several  educational  commissions  during  two  or  three 
decades,  it  began  to  receive  lay  endorsement  in  1909  and 
1910  with  the  vote  of  the  Minnesota  Federation  of  Labor 
and  the  Minneapolis  Commercial  Club,  and  since  then  it 
has  been  approved  by  an  impressive  number  of  educational 
theorists,  administrators,  commissions,  societies,  and  asso- 
ciations. Of  105  reports  of  school  surveys,  33  recommend 
the  establishment  of  junior  high  schools  in  the  locality  or 
State  covered  by  the  survey;  two  express  approval  of  some 
plan  already  in  operation  and  similar  to  the  junior  high 
school;  one  is  uncertain  as  to  the  need  in  the  community 
studied,  and  one  (Louisville,  Kentucky)  finds,  in  the  face  of 
strong  advocacy  by  several  clubs,  that  local  conditions  do 
not  demand  junior  high  schools.  Sixty-eight  of  the  surveys 
make  no  mention  of  reorganization. 


IN  CONCLUSION  323 

The  movement  has  had  a  wide  range  geographically  and 
in  the  types  of  communities  forwarding  it.  Practically  all 
of  our  largest  cities  have  established  one  or  more  junior  high 
schools  to  test  the  claims  made  by  theorists,  to  give  princi- 
pals and  teachers  an  opportunity  to  work  out  a  program 
suitable  to  local  needs,  and  to  accustom  the  public  to  the 
new  type  of  institution  before  proposing  a  city- wide  reorgani- 
zation. Every  report  is  to  the  effect  that  the  success 
achieved  warrants  an  increase  in  the  number  of  junior  high 
schools. 

But  the  movement  has  not  been  confined  to  the  cities. 
Some  States,  as  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  early  pro- 
ceeded to  a  wide  reorganization,  especially  of  their  rural  and 
small  urban  schools,  and  others,  as  Ohio,  Minnesota,  and 
Indiana,  have  encouraged  reorganization  by  issuing  bulle- 
tins of  suggestions  for  either  six-three-three  or  six-six  grade 
systems. 

Arguments  for  the  junior  high  school  concerning  the  psy- 
chological, sociological,  educational,  and  vocational  advan- 
tages are  to  a  considerable  extent  as  applicable  to  the  small 
community  as  to  the  urban;  and  although  the  rural  or  semi- 
rural  school  seldom  contains  pupils  enough  to  make  any 
extensive  amount  of  differentiation  possible,  reorganization 
affords  other  advantages.  In  the  first  place,  it  simplifies 
the  elementary-school  problem  by  reducing  to  six  the  num- 
ber of  grades  to  be  taught  in  the  one-teacher  school,  and  in 
somewhat  larger  communities  by  separating  the  younger 
and  the  older  children  to  the  advantage  of  both  groups. 
Discipline  is  likely  to  be  easier,  and  for  the  older  pupils  it 
will  be  possible  "  to  lengthen  class  recitations  and  accord- 


324  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

ingly  help  the  teacher  to  provide  more  and  better  instruc- 
tion." i 

}  Beyond  this  it  is  often  possible  for  a  small  community 
that  cannot  afford  a  full  high  school  to  extend  its  work 
somewhat,  organizing  the  grades  beyond  the  sixth  as  a 
junior  high  school  and  thus  making  some  secondary  educa- 
tion accessible  to  a  larger  number  of  pupils  than  under  the 
old  plan.  Some  communities  have  found  it  advisable  to 
substitute  for  an  inadequate  four-year  high  school  an  inter- 
mediate school  of  such  length  that  it  could  be  satisfactorily 
conducted  by  the  number  of  teachers  and  with  the  equip- 
ment available. 

The  program  for  the  small  junior  high  school  in  Vermont, 
New  Hampshire,  Maine,  and  some  other  States  is  based 
partly  on  the  supposed  inability  of  a  community  to  support 
a  school  of  more  than  eight  grades,  and  partly  on  a  belief 
that  the  organization  of  a  new  type  of  school  will  facilitate 
change  in  courses  of  study,  adapting  the  subject-matter 
better  to  the  local  needs.  Rural  education  is  only  a  phase 
of  education  in  general;  consequently  farm-life  experience 
must  serve  as  an  approach  and  as  a  medium  of  interpreta- 
tion rather  than  as  a  goal  of  fixed  choice.  Doubtless  if  the 
subject-matter  of  rural  schools  is  materially  modified,  other 
States  will  find,  as  Vermont  has  done,  that  education  of  con- 
vincing worth  will  open  unsuspected  financial  resources 
which  will  gradually  extend  the  number  of  grades  often 
through  the  eleventh  or  twelfth.  This  facilitation  of  edu- 
cational change,  especially  for  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades, 

1  Foght,  in  Report  of  the  United  States  Commissioner  of  Education, 
1916-18. 


IN  CONCLUSION  325 

is  the  chief  reason  for  the  six-six  organization  in  rural  or 
semi-rural  communities. 

If  a  community  cannot  support  a  school  of  twelve  grades, 
the  democratic  alternative  is  that  its  pupils  who  are  ready 
for  advanced  work  shall  have  it  made  possible  by  an  appro- 
priation from  the  public  treasury.  When  it  is  realized  that 
over  700  per  cent  more  urban  than  rural  pupils  graduate 
from  high  schools,  it  is  clear  that  accessibility  of  education  is 
a  prime  factor  in  its  continuance.  The  rural  junior  high 
school  brings  some  secondary  education,  and  that  of  a  better 
type,  to  two  thirds  the  population  that  now  have  poor 
advantages  or  none;  consequently  it  is  reasonable  to  expect 
a  steady  extension  of  this  type  of  school  in  many  of  our 
States. 

The  reorganization  of  small  schools  encourages  rural  and 
village  cooperation,  facilitating  consolidation  and  setting  up 
the  school  as  the  community  social  center.  The  possibilities 
in  this  field,  as  manifested  especially  in  Vermont,  Baltimore 
County,  Maryland,  and  Minnesota,  are  limitless. 

Inquiry  was  made  as  to  the  obstacles  to  full  and  successful 
reorganization  that  were  found  in  practice  by  junior  high 
schools.  Of  those  reported  all  were  the  result  of  tradition 
or  of  laws  determined  by  conditions  before  the  new  type  of 
schools  became  an  important  part  of  our  educational  system. 
Of  170  schools  answering  the  question  concerning  obstacles, 
twenty-five  report  none.  Of  the  remaining  145,  forty  say 
that  "  lack  of  the  right  kind  of  teachers  "  was  the  greatest 
impediment.  No  information  was  secured  from  the  teach- 
ers as  to  the  adequacy  of  superintendents  and  principals. 
Other  obstacles  most  frequently  mentioned  were  the  loca- 


326  THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL 

tion  of  the  school  and  the  lack  of  suitable  textbooks  and 
equipment. 

Laws  in  some  States  define  elementary  and  secondary 
schools  in  such  ways  as  to  make  reorganization  difficult. 
In  some  instances  they  also  prescribe  curricula,  courses  of 
study,  and  textbooks,  require  uniform  state-wide  examina- 
tions, demand  reports,  license  teachers,  and  distribute  funds 
on  the  eight-four  basis.  In  1920,  however,  according  to 
letters  from  state  departments  of  education  and  so  far 
as  could  be  ascertained  from  their  reports,  there  is  in  thirty 
States  no  legal  obstacle  to  the  establishment  and  successful 
administration  of  junior  high  schools.  In  ten  of  the  remain- 
ing eighteen  States  there  are  obstacles  in  the  prescribed 
courses  of  study;  in  four,  of  textbooks;  in  eight,  of  uniform 
examinations ;  and  in  four,  of  the  distribution  of  funds.  But 
among  the  States  that  have  statutory  obstacles  there  are 
only  three  in  which  the  junior-high-school  movement  has 
not  already  made  considerable  progress;  the  provisions  of  old 
laws  are,  for  the  sake  of  educational  progress,  ignored,  usu- 
ally with  the  approval  of  the  state  department  of  education. 

One  federal  law,  the  Smith-Hughes  Act  to  promote  voca- 
tional education,  was  framed  entirely  for  the  old  type  of 
organization;  and  although  it  is  often  desirable  for  certain 
boys  and  girls  to  receive  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades 
some  vocational  training,  junior  high  schools  cannot  furnish 
it  with  the  subvention  of  the  National  Government,  nor  can 
they  receive  financial  aid  for  normal  pupils  in  the  ninth 
grade  without  sacrificing  much  of  the  educational  program 
which  has  come  to  be  considered  fundamental  for  most 
early  adolescents. 


IN  CONCLUSION  327 

The  junior  high  school  is  accepted  in  theory,  and  its  pos- 
sibilities have  proved  so  alluring  that  the  movement  for 
reorganization  is  well  under  way  in  both  urban  and  rural 
districts.  The  physical  redistribution  of  the  grades  seems 
assured;  but  if,  having  accomplished  that,  schoolmen  rest 
content,  they  will  have  missed  the  one  great  educational 
opportunity  of  their  generation  for  real  educational  reform. 
There  is  a  demand  for  purposes  so  clear  and  so  cogent  that 
they  will  result  in  new  curricula,  new  courses  of  study, 
new  methods  of  teaching,  and  new  social  relationships  —  in 
short,  in  a  new  spirit  which  will  make  the  intermediate  years 
not  only  worth  while  in  themselves,  but  also  an  intelligent 
inspiration  for  every  child  to  continue  as  long  as  profitable 
the  education  for  which  he  is  by  inheritance  best  fitted.  In 
its  essence  the  junior  high  school  is  a  device  of  democracy 
whereby  nurture  may  cooperate  with  nature  to  secure  the 
best  results  possible  for  each  individual  adolescent  as  well 
as  for  society  at  large. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Selected  on  the  basis  of  merit  and  accessibility 

ABELSON,  JOSEPH.  A  Study  of  the  Junior  High  School  Project. 
Education,  37: 1-19,  September,  1916. 

A  discussion  of  the  junior  high  school:  definition,  advantages,  illus- 
trations from  letters  by  superintendents. 

B AGLEY,  W.  C.  The  "  Six-Six  "  Plan.  School  and  Home  Education, 
34:  3-5,  September,  1914. 

An  editorial  opinion  of  the  advantages  and  the  disadvantages  of  the 
"six-six"  plan. 

Social  solidarity,  essential  to  a  democracy,  the  chief  aim  of  elementary 
school:  differentiation  at  beginning  of  seventh  grade  premature;  em- 
phasizes individuality  in  democracy. 

The  "Six-Six"  Once  More.    School  and  Home  Education,  34: 

79-80,  November,  1914. 

Differentiation  should  be  marked  in  tenth,  eleventh,  and  twelfth  grades, 
not  entirely  absent  in  ninth  grade,  and  even  recognized  in  seventh  and 
eighth  grades  to  extent  of  providing  differentiated  courses  for  boys  in 
Manual  Training  and  for  girls  in  Household  Arts  and  for  both  in  certain 
other  prevocational  fields. 

Principles  Justifying  Common  Elements  in  the  School  Pro- 
gram. School  and  Home  Education,  34:  119,  December,  1914. 

There  should  be  common  elements  carefully  determined,  followed  by 
greater  opportunity  for  needed  adjustment  to  individuals,  groups,  and 
localities. 

The  "Six-Six"  Plan  and  Early  Differentiation.  School  and 

Home  Education,  34:  239-41,  March,  1915. 

The  writer  thinks  that  the  six-and-six  plan  is  undemocratic  in  its  ten- 
dencies. 

The  six-six  plan  limits  common  elements  to  mere  tools  of  knowledge. 
Constant  application  of  theory  of  early  differentiation  "spells  social 
stratification  and  a  permanent  proletariat." 

The  Minimum  Essentials  versus  the  Differentiated  Course 


330  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

of  Study  in  the  Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades.    Proceedings,  Na- 
tional Education  Association,  1916,  pp.  958-65. 

Differentiation  should  be  based  on  common  elements  carefully  se- 
lected and  rigorously  tested  as  the  core  of  every  seventh-  and  eighth- 
grade  curriculum. 

B AGLEY,  W.  C. ,  and  JUDD,  C.  H.  Enlarging  the  American  Elemen- 
tary School.  School  Review,  26:  313-23,  May,  1918. 

Two  fundamental  and  complementary  principles  of  democracy  —  op- 
portunity and  obligation  —  should  be  reflected  at  every  point  in  any 
organization.  (See  summary  on  pages  87-89,  infra.) 

BAKER,  JAMES  H.  Economy  of  Time  in  Education.  Report  of 
the  Committee  of  the  National  Council  of  Education.  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education.  Bulletin  no.  38.  1913. 

Argues  for  a  six-year  elementary  school  followed  by  six  years  of  sec- 
ondary education. 

BARKER,  A.  C.  The  Intermediate  School  or  Junior  High  School. 
Proceedings,  National  Education  Association,  1917,  pp.  266-71. 

An  exposition  of  the  reorganization  of  the  seventh-  and  eighth-grade 
work  in  the  elementary  schools  of  Oakland,  California,  on  intermediate 
school  principles,  treating  especially  curriculum,  departmental  teaching, 
teachers,  and  courses  of  study. 

BENNETT,  G.  VERNON.  The  Junior  High  School.  Baltimore, 
Warwick  &  York,  Inc.,  1919.  224  pp.  12. 

Treats  the  junior  high  school  (1)  as  an  educational  movement,  dis- 
cussing the  causes  for  its  birth,  its  history,  the  objections  raised  to  it, 
and  its  effect  on  the  elementary  school;  (2)  as  an  institution,  considering 
the  curriculum,  courses  of  study,  preparation,  selection  and  organiza- 
tion of  faculties,  problems  of  teaching,  administration,  relation  to  the 
senior  high  school,  and  an  ideal  environment. 

BENGAMAN,  C .  C .  A  Report  on  the  Jun  ior  High  School  of  the  United 
States  for  Use  as  Reference  in  Organizing  such  Schools  .  .  . 
(Goldfield,  Iowa),  1916.  67  pp.  4.  (Typewritten.) 

A  summary  of  this  report  appeared  in  Educational  Administration  and 
Supervision  for  January,  1917,  under  the  title  "  The  Remarkable  Develop- 
ment of  the  Junior  High  School." 

A  report  of  the  intermediate  and  junior  high  schools  in  the  United 
States  compiled  from  answers  to  a  questionnaire  listing  280  schools  by 
States  and  giving  the  plan  of  organization,  its  advantages,  and  courses 
of  study. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  331 

BONSER,  FREDERICK  C.  Democratizing  Secondary  Education  by 
the  Six-Three-Three  Plan.  Educational  Administration  and  Su- 
pervision, 1 :  507-72,  November,  1915. 

Argues  for  the  junior  high  school  and  gradual  differentiation;  proposes 
program  of  studies. 

BRIGGS,  THOMAS  H.  The  Junior  High  School.  In  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education,  Report  of  the  Commissioner,  1914, 
vol.  1,  pp.  135-57.  Washington,  Government  Printing  Office, 
1914. 

A  treatment  of  the  junior-high-school  movement  under  the  following 
headings:  a.  Dissatisfaction  with  work  done  by  the  eight-four  plan;  6. 
The  name  and  definition  for  the  new  organization;  c.  Approximations  in 
the  upper  grades;  d.  Advantages  claimed  for  junior  high  school;  e.  Ob- 
stacles to  its  organization;/.  Junior  high  schools  and  their  curricula  in 
1914. 

Possibilities  of  the  Junior  High  School.    In  New  York  (State) 

University  Convocation  Proceedings,  191G,  pp.  92-103.     Also  in 
Education,  37:  279-89,  January,  1917. 

Emphasize  necessity  of  clear  purpose;  defined  the  junior  high  school, 
distinguishing  the  urban  and  the  rural,  as  "an  opportunity  more  easily 
to  break  with  tradition,  through  congregation  and  segregation  to  form 
groups  homogeneous  for  similar  training,  to  secure  the  true  function  of 
the  earlier  stages  of  secondary  education,  the  exploration,  on  the  one 
hand,  of  the  interests,  the  aptitudes,  and  the  capacities  of  the  pupils,  and, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  exploration  for  them  of  the  possibilities  in  each 
of  the  great  fields  of  learning." 

What  is  a  Junior  High  School?    Educational  Administration 

and  Supervision,  5:  £83-301,  September,  1919. 

The  formation  of  a  tentative  definition  by  securing  the  composite 
opinion  of  competent  judges,  after  having  submitted  to  them  a  collation 
of  all  published  definitions  and  requesting  them  to  indicate  which  are 
essential  and  which  are  highly  desirable,  even  though  not  essential. 

A  Composite  Definition  of  the  Junior  High  School.  Educa- 
tional Administration  and  Supervision,  6:  181  ff. 

A  collation  of  definitions  of  the  junior  high  school  by  sixty-eight 
schoolmen  and  committees. 

A  Study  of  Comparative  Results  in  Intermediate  and  Ele- 


mentary  Schools  of  Los  Angeles.     Journal  of  Educational 
search,  November,  1920. 


332  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BROWN,  H.  E.  A  Plan  for  the  Reorganization  of  the  American 
Secondary  Schools.  School  Review,  22:  289-301,  May,  1914. 

Growth  of  the  secondary  school;  introduction  of  departmental  teaching 
in  the  seventh  and  eighth  grades;  a  demand  for  the  adoption  of  a  system 
in  keeping  with  the  psychological  needs  of  the  growing  child;  success  of 
six-six  plan;  advantages  of  the  junior  college;  recommendation  for  sav- 
ing time  by  recasting  secondary  school  curriculum. 

BUNKER,  F.  F.  Better  Estimation  of  the  Public-School  System. 
Educational  Review,  47:  249-68,  March,  1914. 

Statement  of  the  plan  for  the  reorganization  of  the  school  system  at 
Berkeley,  California;  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  the  six-three- 
three  plan;  overcoming  obstacles  in  its  establishment. 

Reorganization  of  the  Public-School  System.     Washington, 

Government  Printing  Office,  1916.     186  pp.  8.     (U.S.  Bureau 
of  Education.    Bulletin  no.  8.     1916.) 

CHAPMAN,  IRA  T.  Obstacles  to  be  encountered  hi  the  Establish- 
ment of  the  Junior  High  School.  Journal  of  Education,  83 :  537- 
41,  May  18,  1916. 

Enumerates  obstacles  met  in  the  community  and  in  administration. 

CHILDS,  HUBERT  G.  An  Investigation  of  Certain  Phases  of  the  Re- 
organization Movement  in  the  Grammar  Grades  of  Indiana  Public 
Schools,  187  pp.  Fort  Wayne  Printing  Company,  1918. 

Extent  of  the  movement  in  Indiana,  aims,  features  of  reorganization 
actually  in  use,  features  of  practice  in  departmental  schools,  comparative 
measures  of  results. 

COFFMAN,  L.  D.  The  Minimum  Essentials  versus  the  Differen- 
tiated Course  of  Study  in  the  Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades.  Pro- 
ceedings, National  Education  Association,  1916,  pp.  953-58. 

Says  that  because  of  the  obligations  of  the  school  to  social  welfare 
and  national  integrity,  it  must  provide  a  curriculum  of  minimum  essen- 
tials —  "all  that  knowledge  of  a  non-technical  nature  with  which  every 
well-informed  and  reasonably  well-adjusted  citizen  in  an  American  state 
is  equipped,"  to  which  is  added  "ideals,  attitudes,  appreciations,  preju- 
dices, and  contempts,"  etc.  —  presented  by  varied  methods  adapted  to 
the  capacities  of  pupils. 

Cox,  P.  W.  L.  The  Solvay  Junior  High  School.  Educational 
Administration  and  Supervision,  1:  619-22,  November,  1915. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  333 

An  account  of  the  Solvay,  New  York,  junior  high  school,  with  enu- 
meration of  the  effects  of  such  a  school  on  other  units  in  the  educa- 
tional system. 

The  Junior  High  School;  Its  Purposes  and  How  they  may 


be  Realized.     American  Education,  19:  337-43,  February,  1916. 
After  citing  purposes,  emphasizes  four:  to  provide  better  for  individual 
differences,  to  make  easier  transition  to  higher  schools,  to  decrease  elimi- 
nation, and  to  furnish  opportunity  for  reform. 

—  Readjustment  of  the  Solvay  Schools.    Educational  Adminis- 
tration and  Supervision,  2:  605-24,  December,  1916. 

Discussion  of  grading,  the  schools  and  the  foreign  born,  socialized  ele- 
mentary school,  the  junior  high  school,  readjustment  year,  the  senior 
high  school. 

Junior  High  Schools.    Recommendations  of  the  Commission 


on  Unit  Courses  and  Curricula.     In  Proceedings,  North  Central 
Association  of  Colleges  and  Secondary  Schools,  1918,  pp.  22-27. 

An  attempt  at  standardization  of  junior  high  schools  —  leaving  room 
for  variations  to  suit  local  needs. 

—  School  Review,  26:  541-44,  September,  1918. 

Criticism  of  Bagley  and  Judd  in  omitting  needs  of  retarded  children 
from  points  they  held  in  common;  plea  for  consideration  of  average 
children. 

The  Ben  Blewett  Junior  High  School:  An  Experiment  in 

Democracy.    School  Review,  27:  345-59,  May,  1919. 
Exposition  of  the  work  of  a  St.  Louis  junior  high  school. 

DAVIS,  C.  O.    Principles  and  Plans  for  Reorganizing  Secondary 
Education.     In  High  School  Education,  ed.  by  C.  H.  Johnston. 
New  York,  Chas.  Scribner's  Sons,  1912,  pp.  67-105. 
Six-and-six  plan  discussed  on  pages  73-86. 

Indictment  of  eight-four  organization  and  argument  for  the  junior 
high  school. 

The  Subject-Matter  and  Administration  of  the  Six-Three- 
Three  Plan  of  Secondary  Schools.  Ann  Arbor,  Mich.,  The  Uni- 
versity, 1915.  35  pp.  9.  (University  of  Michigan.  University 
Bulletin.  '  n.s.  vol.  17,  no.  9,  September,  1915.) 

Ten  essentials  of  a  junior  high  school;  suggested  curricula. 


334  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Junior  High  Schools  in  the  North  Central  Association  Terri- 
tory. School  Review,  26:  324-36,  May,  1918. 

Report  of  293  junior-high-school  questionnaire  returns,  listed  by 
seventeen  States,  on  thirty-nine  points. 

DEFFENBAUGH,  W.  S.  Reorganization.  In  United  States  Bu- 
reau of  Education.  Report  of  the  Commissioner,  1915,  vol.  1, 
pp.  60-64.  Washington,  Government  Printing  Office,  1915. 

Discussion  of  the  junior-high-school  movement  to  date,  with  exposi- 
tion of  plans  used  in  several  places. 

DENVER,  COLORADO.     Junior  High  Schools  of  Denver.     Elemen- 
tary School  Journal,  18:  164-66,  November,  1917. 
Program  of  studies  for  Denver  junior  high  schools. 

DOUGLASS,  AUBREY  AUGUSTUS.  The  Present  Status  of  the  Junior 
High  School.  Pedagogical  Seminary,  22:  253-74,  June,  1915. 
Bibliography:  p.  274.  Also  separately  reprinted. 

Gives  a  list  of  the  cities  having  junior  or  intermediate  schools,  and 
then  discusses  the  following  aspects  of  the  subject:  Grades  found  in 
junior  high  school,  Entrance  requirements,  Enrollment  figures,  Courses 
of  study,  Features  of  organization,  Action  of  colleges  and  universities, 
and  Weak  points. 

The  Junior  High  School.     Bloomington,  111.,  The  Public 

School  Publishing  Company,  1916.  157  pp.  8.  (National  So- 
ciety for  the  Study  of  Education.  Fifteenth  Yearbook.  Part 
in.) 

Contents:  I.  Features  of  readjustment.  II.  Physiological  and  psy- 
chological characteristics  of  adolescence.  III.  The  curriculum.  IV. 
Problems  of  administration  and  supervision.  Bibliography. 

FOSTER,  J.  M.  Junior  High  School  in  Villages.  Education,  37: 
495-503,  April,  1917. 

Quotes  definition  and  some  statistics,  and  describes  what  is  being  done 
in  the  Dansville,  New  York,  junior  high  school. 

FRANCIS,  JOHN  H.  A  Reorganization  of  Our  School  System. 
Proceedings,  National  Education  Association,  1912,  pp.  368-76. 
"Advantages  of  the  Intermediate  school  as  worked  out  in  Los 
Angeles." 

FULLERTON,  C.  H.  Columbus  Junior  High  School.  Columbus, 
Ohio,  1912,  24  pp.  Reprinted  as  monograph. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  335 

Thirty-Ninth  Annual  Report  of  the  Public  Schools  of  Columbus, 
Ohio  (1912),  pp.  169-92. 

A  report  of  the  plan  and  results  of  the  junior  high  school  in  Columbus 
and  other  places;  arguments  for  and  against  the  junior  high  school; 
curricula;  discussion  of  the  value  of  departmental  teaching  in  seventh 
and  eighth  grades. 

GILES,  J.  T.  The  Effect  upon  the  First  Six  Grades  of  the  Junior- 
Senior  High-School  Reorganization.  Educational  Administra- 
tion and  Supervision,  3:  269-74,  May,  1917. 

So  far  as  discipline,  supervision,  elimination,  and  curriculum  are  con- 
cerned, the  administration  of  the  schools  is  much  simplified  when  the 
seventh  and  eighth  grades  are  not  present,  according  to  the  views  of 
principals  and  teachers. 

GLASS,  J.  M.  Results  of  the  First  Year's  Work  at  Washington 
Junior  High  School,  Rochester,  New  York.  In  New  York  (State) 
University  Convocation  Proceedings,  1916,  pp.  105-24. 

An  advantage  in  administration  and  of  much  benefit  to  pupils;  mor- 
tality of  ninth  grade  lessened. 

GOSLING,  THOMAS  WTARRINGTON.  Educational  Reconstruction  in 
the  Junior  High  School.  Educational  Review,  57:  376-86,  May, 
1919. 

Recital  of  the  defects  of  our  educational  system  as  brought  out  by  the 
World  War;  advantages  of  the  junior  high  school  in  remedying  conditions. 

• The  Selection  and  the  Training  of  Teachers  for  Junior  High 

Schools.    Eighteenth  Yearbook  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Study 
of  Education.   Part  i,  pp.  166-89. 

Qualities  and  training  necessary  for  successful  junior-high-school  teach- 
ers; courses  offered  for  them  by  colleges  and  normal  schools. 

GRAND  RAPIDS,  MICH.,  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  The  Junior  High 
Schools.  In  its  School  Survey,  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  1916 
(Grand  Rapids,  Mich.,  1916),  pp.  228-53. 

A  study  by  C.  O.  Davis  of  the  junior  high  school  in  the  Grand  Rapids 
organization. 

HANUS,  PAUL  H.     A  Six- Year  High-School  Programme.     In  his 
A  Modern  School,  pp.  99-109.     New  York  and  London,  The 
Macmillan  Company,  1904. 
In  order  to  provide  more  elementary  school  pupils  with  equal  oppor- 


336  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

tunities  to  enjoy  the  advantages  of  high  schools,  their  teachers,  and 
equipment,  it  is  suggested  that  the  elementary  school  be  limited  to  six 
years  devoted  solely  to  the  school  arts,  and  that  in  the  seventh  and  eighth 
grades  various  kinds  of  technical  training  be  given,  as  well  as  some  gen- 
eral culture  to  those  pupils  obliged  soon  to  leave  school. 

HILL,  CLYDE  M.  The  Junior  High  School  in  Vermont.  In  New 
York  (State)  University  Convocation  Proceedings,  1916,  pp. 
124-35. 

An  exposition  of  the  junior  high  schools  in  small  Vermont  communi- 
ties, especially  of  their  adaptation  to  local  needs. 

HILLEGAS,  MILO  B.  The  Organization  of  Junior  High  Schools  in 
Small  Communities.  Teachers  College  Record,  19:  336-44, 
September,  1918. 

Shows  how  the  junior  high  school  meets  the  demands  of  the  smaller 
communities  of  Vermont. 

HOLLISTER,  H.  A.  The  Junior  High  School.  School  and  Home 
Education,  35:  117-20,  December,  1915. 

On  the  basis  of  observation,  writer  sees  three  types  of  junior  high 
schools,  one  of  which  offers  the  best  solution  of  the  particular  problem 
which  it  is  intended  to  solve  that  has  thus  far  appeared. 

HOOD,  WILLIAM  R.  Junior  and  Senior  High  Schools.  In  United 
States  Bureau  of  Education,  Report  of  the  Commissioner,  1912, 
vol.  1,  pp.  153-56.  Washington,  Government  Printing  Office, 
1913. 

Discussion  of  junior-high-school  movement  to  date;  questionnaire 
returns  as  to  practice. 

HORN,  P.  W.    The  Junior  High  School  in  Houston,  Texas.    Ele- 
mentary School  Journal,  16:  91-95,  October,  1915. 
Exposition,  definition,  and  argument. 

HOUGH,  W.  R.  Advantages  of  the  Double-Six  Organization.  School 
Review,  27:  377-84,  May,  1919. 

Advantages  of  the  six-six  organization,  as  at  Oakland  City,  Indiana, 
especially  for  small  communities.  .  •  . . 

HUDSON,  OHIO.  Junior  High  School  at  Hudson,  Ohio.  Elemen- 
tary School  Journal,  17:  466-67,  March,  1917. 

In  the  junior  high  school  in  a  small  system,  a  few  electives  are  made 
possible  by  alternating  certain  courses  in  two  successive  years. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  337 

HUGHES,  J.  F.  The  Essential  Features  of  the  Chanute  Junior- 
Senior  High-School  Plan  and  its  Tangible  Results.  Educational 
Administration  and  Supervision,  1 :  617-19,  October,  1915. 

INGLIS,  ALEXANDER.  Principles  of  Secondary  Education.  Boston, 
Houghton  Mifflin  Company,  1918. 

General  treatment,  curriculum  organization,  place  in  the  school  sys- 
tem, comprehensive  versus  special  type,  instruction  and  supervised  study, 
diagnosis  and  guidance. 

The  Junior  High  School.     Provisions  for  its  Organization 

and  Efficient  Administration.    Journal  of  Education,  84 : 595-97, 
December  14,  1916. 

Condensed  summary  of  the  place  of  the  junior  high  school  in  the 
school  system,  the  dominant  characteristics,  and  the  principles  growing 
out  of  these  characteristics. 

A  Fundamental  Problem  in  the  Reorganization  of  the  High 

School.     School  Review,  23:  307-18,  May,  1915. 

Adolescence  is  variable  as  to  time  of  onset  and  is  gradual  rather  than 
saltatory. 

The   Junior    High  School.      Some    Principles  Affecting  its 


Organization  and  Administration.     Harvard  Teachers'  Associa- 
tion Leaflet,  2:  1-9,  October,  1916. 

Discusses  (1)  principles  arising  out  of  the  nature  of  the  pupils;  (2)  prin- 
ciples arising  out  of  social  demands;  (3)  principles  arising  out  of  the  means 
available. 

JOHNSTON,  C.  H.  Movement  toward  the  Reorganization  of 
Secondary  Education.  Educational  Administration  and  Super- 
vision, 1:  165-72,  March,  1915. 

Many  arguments  presented  for  and  against  rearrangement  of  the  six 
upper  grades;  no  evidence  that  the  experimenters  would  be  willing  to 
return  to  the  old  system. 

Junior  High-School  Administration.  Educational  Adminis- 
tration and  Supervision,  2:  71-86,  February,  1916. 

Enumeration  of  a  large  number  of  administrative  and  educational 
problems,  with  brief  comment. 

The  Junior  High  School.    In  Proceedings,  National  Education 

Association,  1916,  pp.  145-51.  (Same  article  in  Educational  Ad- 
ministration and  Supervision,  2:  413-24,  July,  1916.) 

Sanctions  by  approval  of  the  junior  high  school;  definition  and  dis- 
cussion. 


33S  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

What  is  Curriculum  Differentiation?  Educational  Adminis- 
tration and  Supervision,  2:  49-57,  January,  1916. 

Imaginary  colloquy  between  representatives  of  various  educational 
theories  as  to  curriculum  differentiation. 

JONES,  ARTHUR  J.  The  Junior  High  School.  School  Review,  26: 
110-23,  February,  1918. 

Says  junior  high  school  is  only  one  of  several  plans  for  providing  for 
individual  pupils'  needs,  there  is  need  of  clear  vision,  and  gives  a  list 
of  features  considered  essential. 

JUDD,  CHARLES  H.  The  Junior  High  School.  School  Review,  23 : 
25-33,  January,  1915. 

Argues  for  a  real,  not  a  nominal,  reorganization  and  proposes  plans  for 
broader  educational  opportunities  for  pupils. 

The  Junior  High  School.    School  Review,  24:249-60,  April, 

1916.   Also  in  Proceedings,  National  Education  Association,  1916. 
A  plea  for  the  junior  high  school;  says  that  it  holds  children  in  the 
schools,  equipping  them  for  life  in  accordance  with  the  laws  of  their 
natures. 

JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOLS.  Educator  Journal,  15:  237-39,  January, 
1915;  Elementary  School  Journal,  17:  292-94,  January,  1917; 
Journal  of  Education,  82: 342-47,  352-53,  October  14, 1915. 

A  symposium,  giving  the  views  of  superintendents  and  high-school 
teachers,  Messrs.  Hood,  Horn,  Loper,  Mott,  Smith,  Whitney,  and  Wood, 
on  the  junior-high-school  proposition. 

KANDEL,  I.  L.  The  Junior  High  School  in  European  Systems. 
Educational  Review,  58:  303-27,  November,  1919. 

An  exposition  of  tendencies  in  intermediate-school  education  in  Ger- 
many, France,  and  England. 

Educational  Tendencies  in  Germany.     School  and  Society, 

4:27-31,  July  1,  1916. 

Educational  reform  proposed  by  the  German  republicans. 

KELLY,  F.  J.  The  General  or  Composite  Industrial  School  in  the 
City  of  less  than  Twenty-Five  Thousand.  School  and  Society, 
8:  721-26,  December  21,  1918. 

Discusses  industrial  program  as  it  concerns  the  junior-senior  high- 
school  organization,  with  special  reference  to  the  limitations  and  aids  of 
the  Smith-Hughes  Law. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  339 

Koos,  LEONARD  V.  The  Junior  High  School.  New  York,  Har- 
court,  Brace  &  Howe,  1920. 

The  movement  for  reorganization;  peculiar  tendencies  of  the  junior 
high  school;  tests  of  the  organization;  programs  of  study;  other  features 
of  reorganization;  a  standard  junior  high  school. 

LEWIS,  E.  E.  Standards  of  Measuring  Junior  High  Schools.  Iowa 
City,  University  of  Iowa,  1916.  Extension  Division  Bulletin 
no.  25,  31  pp.  8. 

Ten  standards  selected  by  the  author  as  essential  to  junior  high 
schools;  discussion;  and  short  bibliography. 

LULL,  HERBERT  G.  The  Junior-High-School  Curriculum.  School 
Review,  26:  12-14,  January,  1918. 

Recommends  certain  subjects  as  constants  and  clectives;  gives  typical 
curriculum. 

LYMAN,  R.  L.  The  Washington  Junior  High  School,  Rochester, 
New  York.  School  Review,  28:  178-204,  March,  1920. 

An  expository  article  treating  the  curricula,  vocational  instruction, 
vocational  guidance,  study-coach  organization,  and  the  democratic  or- 
ganization of  the  student  body. 

The  Ben  Blewett  Junior  High  School.     School  Review,  28: 

26-40,  97-111,  January  and  February,  1920. 

An  expository  article  treating  the  articulation  with  lower  and  higher 
schools,  homogeneous  groupings,  pupil  advisers,  provisions  for  acceler- 
ating progress,  faculty  organization,  student  government,  the  curricula, 
social  studies,  educational  projects  and  vocational  guidance;  English, 
general  science,  mathematics,  art,  music,  practical  arts,  socialized  recita- 
tion, home  study  and  supervised  study,  organized  play  and  athletics, 
clubs,  cost. 

MANGUM,  VERNON  L.  Some  Junior-High-School  Facts  drawn 
from  Two  Years  of  the  Six-and-Six  plan  at  Macomb,  Illinois. 
Elementary  School  Journal,  18:  598-617,  April,  1918. 

Comparative  figures  on  retardation,  elimination,  cost,  and  other  re- 
sults. 

MCCARTNEY,  L.  Junior  High  School;  A  Description  of  the  Local 
Situation  in  Hannibal,  Missouri.  School  Review,  25:  652-58, 
November,  1917. 

MASSACHUSETTS.     HIGH  SCHOOL  MASTERS'  CLUB.     Report  of 


340  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Committee  on  the  Junior  High  School  .  .  .  March  17,  1917. 
Boston,  D.  C.  Heath  &  Co.,  1917.   43  pp. 

A  report,  giving  an  historical  statement  of  the  movement,  its  extent, 
a  tabulation  of  answers  to  a  questionnaire,  and  the  advantages  and  dis- 
advantages of  the  junior  high  school.  Also  programs  of  studies  used  in 
several  schools  in  the  United  States,  France,  and  Germany,  M'ith  a  pro- 
gram recommended  by  the  committee  with  suggestions  in  general  on 
teachers  and  methods;  bibliography. 

MINNESOTA.  STATE  HIGH  SCHOOL,  BOARD.  The  Junior-High- 
School  Problem.  A  report  prepared  for  the  State  High-School 
Board  by  E.  M.  Philips  and  C.  H.  Barnes.  May  15,  1916. 
25  pp.  8.  (Bulletin  no.  59.) 

A  survey  of  movement  giving  some  typical  redirected  courses,  advan- 
tages and  disadvantages  of  the  junior  high  school,  and  opinions  of  vari- 
ous educators,  parents,  and  pupils. 

Report  of  Committee  on  Elementary  Course  of  Study  of 

Minnesota  Educational  Association  on  Elimination  of  Subject- 

.  Matter  in  Arithmetic,  American  History,  Composition,  English 
Grammar,  Geography,  and  Reading.  Minnesota  State  Depart- 
ment of  Education,  Bulletin  no.  51.  March,  1914. 

MISSOURI  STATE  TEACHERS'  ASSOCIATION.  Report  of  the  Com- 
mittee on  the  Junior-High-School  Plan.  Bulletin,  Missouri 
State  Teachers'  Association,  2:  167-79,  January,  1916. 

A  general  summary  of  reports  and  opinions  of  schoolmen  and  commit- 
tees giving  arguments  for  and  against  the  junior  high  school;  two  typical 
junior-high-school  curricula. 

MORRISON,  GILBERT  B.  Third  Report  of  the  National  Education 
Association  Committee  on  Six-Year  Course  of  Study.  In  it1 
Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses,  1909,  pp.  498-503. 

Personal  reports  from  the  city  superintendents  show  the  economy  of 
the  six-six  plan:  there  is  a  general  impression  that  the  differentiation  of 
pupils'  work  should  begin  at  the  end  of  the  sixth  grade. 

NATIONAL  EDUCATION  ASSOCIATION.  Report  of  the  Committee 
on  an  Equal  Division  of  the  Twelve  Years  in  the  Public  Schools 
between  the  District  and  High  Schools.  In  its  Journal  of 
Proceedings  and  Addresses,  1907,  pp.  705-10. 

Arguments  for  the  six-six  organization  summarized  as  pedagogic  and 
economic. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  341 

Report  of  the  Committee  on  Six- Year  Course  of  Study.    In 

its  Journal  of  Proceedings  and  Addresses,  1908,  pp.  625-28. 

Brief  report.  Points  out  that  the  Committee  of  Ten  as  early  as  1893 
recognized  the  need  of  a  change  from  the  eight-four  system;  gives  a  synop- 
sis of  the  report  of  committee  on  six-year  courses  of  high-school  study; 
endeavors  to  show  what  should  be  expected  of  pupils  at  the  end  of  the 
sixth  school  year;  and  suggests  a  rather  narrow  list  of  studies  for  pupils  of 
seventh  and  eighth  grades. 

NATIONAL  COUNCIL  OF  EDUCATION.    Junior  High  Schools. 

In  its  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Economy  of  Time  in  Edu- 
cation, pp.  25-27.  Washington,  Government  Printing  Office, 
1913.  (United  States  Bureau  of  Education,  Bulletin  no.  38. 
1913.) 

Argument  for  the  three-three  organization  of  high  schools :  from  ages 
twelve  to  fifteen  a  point  of  articulation  is  reached  for  vocational  schools 
which  supplement  liberal  education  between  the  industrial  trades  at  one 
extreme  and  the  professions  at  the  other. 

NEW  HAMPSHIRE.  DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION.  DI- 
VISION ON  SECONDARY  SCHOOLS.  Junior-High-School  Re- 
organization. (Concord,  New  Hampshire,  1916.)  7  pp.  8. 
(Circular  no.  2.) 

Basis  of  reorganization:  (1)  the  new  elementary-school  program  de- 
signed to  shorten  period  of  time  in  school;  (2)  the  pushing  downward 
into  junior  high  school  of  secondary  school  subjects. 

NEWLON,  JESSE  H.  The  Need  of  a  Scientific  Curriculum  Policy 
for  Junior  and  Senior  High  Schools.  Educational  Administra- 
tion and  Supervision,  3:  253-68,  May,  1917. 

Traces  historical  development  of  secondary-school  curricula;  rec- 
ommends principles  of  procedure. 

NORTH  CENTRAL  ASSOCIATION  OF  COLLEGES  AND  SECONDARY 
SCHOOLS.  Digest  of  the  responses  to  the  questionnaire  on  the 
Junior  High  School  (or  intermediate  school).  In  its  Proceedings, 
1916,  pp.  174-92. 

Investigation  of  administration  problems  now  being  faced  by  those 
whose  school  systems  are  already  reorganized  on  some  other  than  the 
eight-four  plan;  on  basis  of  investigation  certain  tentative  recommenda- 
tions have  been  made  that  may  be  helpful  at  present  time. 


342  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

OHIO.  A  Manual  for  Junior  High  Schools,  prepared  by  Inspec- 
tors Oliver  and  Landsittel.  1917. 

Function  of  the  junior  high  school,  standards,  program  of  studies, 
teachers,  cautions. 

PALMER,  J.  T.  The  Social  Opportunities  of  the  Intermediate  or 
Junior  High  School.  Journal  of  Education,  85 :  432-33,  April, 
1917. 

A  plea  for  recognition  of  natural  leadership  and  the  spirit  of  following 
one's  chosen  leader;  as  applied  to  civil  government,  assembly  exercises, 
orchestra,  athletics,  and  individual  projects. 

PEARSE,  C.  G.  Negative  in  Debate  with  C.  H.  Judd.  Proceed- 
ings, National  Education  Association,  1916,  pp.  917-25. 

Presents  the  arguments  against  the  junior-high-school  organization. 

PHILIPS,  D.  E.  Decalogue  of  the  Junior  High  School.  School  Re- 
view, 27:  161-71,  March,  1919, 

Ten  demands  to  which  the  junior  high  school  should  conform:  1.  Elec- 
tive curricula;  2.  Promotion  by  subject;  3.  Expansion  of  curriculum; 
4.  Wider  practical  arts  program;  5.  Scientific  vocational  guidance; 
6.  Departmental  teaching;  7.  Supervised  study;  8.  Adjustment  of 
senior-  to  junior-high-school  program;  9.  Training  of  special  teachers; 
10.  Inspire  to  further  effort. 

ROBERTS,  JOHN  S.  Intermediate  Schools  or  Junior  High  Schools. 
Bulletin  of  High  Points  in  the  work  of  the  high  schools  of  New 
York  City,  1 :  3-5,  February,  1919. 

The  purpose  of  the  junior  high  school,  its  advantages,  and  the  atti- 
tude of  high  schools  toward  it. 

ROBINSON,  EDWARD  VAN  DYKE.  The  Reorganization  of  the 
Grades  and  the  High  School.  School  Review,  20:  665-88,  De- 
cember, 1912. 

Cites  the  experience  of  various  communities  which  have  tried  differ- 
ent plans,  such  as  the  ten-and-two  plan,  six-and-six  plan,  eight-one-and- 
three  plan,  etc. ;  summarizes  arguments  for  the  junior  high  school. 

ROREM,  S.  O.  Measuring  East  Junior  High  School  of  Sioux  City, 
Iowa.  School  Review,  27:  44-55,  January,  1919. 

Discussion  of  admission,  classification,  promotion,  curricula,  instruc- 
tion, teachers,  management,  and  housing. 


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RUSSELL,  W.  F.  Economy  of  Time  in  Secondary  Education.  Ed- 
ucational Review,  49:  20-36,  January,  1915. 

Gives  function  of  high  school  and  shows  waste  of  American  system  of 
secondary  education.  Compares  German  and  French  secondary  schools 
with  American  showing  where  the  latter  are  inferior  and  how  the  strong 
points  of  the  foreign  schools  can  be  adapted  to  the  advantage  of  the 
American  schools  "through  mechanical  administration,  articulation  of 
the  course  of  study,  introduction  of  more  efficient  teachers  and  methods, 
and  attention  to  actual  uses  in  the  world  at  large." 

SCOFIELD,  F.  A.  The  Junior  High  School  at  McMinnville,  Oregon. 
American  School  Board  Journal,  50: 11-13,  65,  March,  1915. 

Gives  an  outline  of  a  working  plan,  and  its  advantages  over  the  old 
grade  method,  especially  in  a  small  city;  curricula;  repeaters;  student  ac- 
tivities and  discipline. 

The   Function  of  the  Intermediate   School   or  the   Junior 

High  School.     Journal  of  Education,  79: 429-31,  April  16,  1914. 

Need  for  reorganization  of  elementary  and  secondary  schools;  dif- 
ferent plans  for  reorganization;  aims  of  the  junior  high  school;  reasons 
that  have  actuated  different  cities  in  forming  junior  high  school;  details 
of  curriculum  largely  local  problem. 

SIMMONDS,  F.  W.  The  Six- Year  High  School  of  Lewiston,  Idaho: 
Program  of  Studies.  Educational  Administration  and  Supervi- 
sion, 2:  107-12,  February,  1916. 

Credit  for  subsidiary  work;  home  reports;  teacher  cost  per  pupil,  as 
well  as  total  cost  per  pupil  decreased  after  organization  of  junior  high 
school. 

SNAVELY,  GUY  E.  The  Junior  High  School  and  the  College.  Edu- 
cational Review,  52:  40-49,  June,  1916. 

Advocates  adapting  the  curriculums  of  the  junior  and  senior  high 
schools  so  that  two  years  would  be  sufficient  for  the  normal  student  now 
requiring  three  to  complete  the  seventh,  eighth,  and  ninth  grades. 

SNEDDEN,  D.  Six- Year  High-School  Course.  Educational  Re- 
view, 26:  525-29,  December,  1903. 

A  suggested  plan  for  the  introduction  of  early  election  of  courses  in- 
volving little  disturbance  either  in  school  machinery  or  of  public  opinion. 

The  Minimum  Essentials  versus  the  Differentiated  Course  of 

Study.     In  Proceedings,  National  Education  Association,  1916. 


344  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

pp.  965-76.  (Also  in  Educational  Administration  and  Supervi- 
sion, 2:  219-34,  April,  1916.) 

Education  for  children  from  twelve  to  fourteen  years  of  age  should 
continue  general  education;  no  vocational  education  should  be  offered; 
vocational  guidance  and  elective  systems  are  very  desirable;  central 
schools  should  be  established  for  this  group. 

Objectives,  curriculum  (alpha  and  beta)  varying  educational  needs, 
and  arguments  for  and  against  the  elective  system  for  ages  twelve  to 
fourteen. 

The  Six- Year  Course  of  Study.    In  Principles  of  Secondary 

Education,  ed.  by  Paul  Monroe.  New  York,  The  Macmillan 
Company,  1914,  pp.  226-29. 

Historical  reasons  for  and  defects  of  eight-four  plan,  objections  by  the 
public  to  the  six-year  high  school,  development  of  the  intermediate  school, 
and  possible  courses  for  the  intermediate  school. 

Peculiar  Psychological  Conditions  and  Social  Needs  of  the 

Seventh  and  Eighth  Grades.  In  Proceedings,  National  Educa- 
tion Association,  1916,  pp.  398-403. 

Pros  and  cons  for  the  junior  high  school  from  the  standpoint  of  psy- 
chological conditions  and  social  needs. 

The  Intermediate  High  School.    In  his  Problems  of  Second- 


ary  Education.     Boston,   Houghton  Mifflin   Company,   1917, 
pp.  318-30. 

Discussion  of  differentiated  courses  of  study,  enrichment  of  the  cur- 
riculum, training  and  education  of  high-school  teachers  and  adminis- 
trative modifications  necessary  for  the  junior  high  school. 

STACY,  C.  R.  Tentative  Standards  for  Junior-High-School  Ad- 
ministration. American  School  Board  Journal,  55:  19-20,  Au- 
gust, 1917. 

Dealing  with  these  factors  in  the  administration  of  the  junior  high 
school:  1.  Names  used;  2.  Arrangement  of  junior  high  schools;  3.  Hous- 
ing; 4.  Location  and  equipment;  5.  Number  and  length  of  daily  sessions; 
6.  Length  of  recitation  period;  7.  Method  of  class  changes;  8.  Promo- 
tions; 9.  Use  of  same  instructors  in  both  junior  and  senior  high  schools; 
10.  Preparation  and  salaries  of  teachers  ;  11.  Supervision  of  instruction. 

The  Training  of  Teachers  for  Intermediate  Schools.  Edu- 
cational Administration  and  Supervision,  2:  448-55,  July,  1916. 

States  what  the  State  Normal  School  at  Bridgewater,  Massachusetts, 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  345 

purposed  to  do  in  preparing  teachers  for  the  junior  high  school,  aiming 
to  give  them  a  real  professional  equipment. 

The  Junior-High-School  Movement  in  Massachusetts.  Edu- 
cational Administration  and  Supervision,  3:  343-50,  June,  1917. 
In  part  from  the  Eighteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Massachu- 
setts State  Board  of  Education,  1915-16. 

An  explanation  of  what  is  being  done  in  several  Massachusetts  towns 
to  further  the  cause  of  the  junior  high  school;  the  author  also  explains  the 
reasons  for  the  modification  of  the  course  of  study  at  the  Bridgewater 
Normal  School. 

STETSON,  PAUL  C.  The  Junior  High  School.  The  Next  Step 
Forward  in  Education.  American  School  Board  Journal,  47: 
9-11,  54,  December,  1913. 

Gives  a  visualization  of  what  this  new  type  of  school  is  designed  to 
be,  setting  forth  what  ideals  our  education  should  stand  for;  tells  what 
is  being  done  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan,  and  outlines  in  some  detail  the 
various  factors  of  the  Grand  Rapids  scheme  which  seem  especially  note- 
worthy. 

Statistical  Study  of  the  Scholastic  Records  of  404  Junior 

and  Non-Junior  High-School  Students.    School  Review,  25 :  617- 
36,  November,  1917. 

A  statistical  study  of  two  groups  (comprising  404)  of  students  gradu- 
ating in  1916  from  the  Grand  Rapids  high  school.  One  group  had  had  the 
privileges  of  the  junior  high  school,  the  other  had  not.  Yet  a  compari- 
son of  their  respective  abilities  in  English  and  Mathematics  shows  the 
differences  to  be  negligible.  Since  this  new  type  of  organization  is  being 
maintained  at  a  greatly  increased  cost,  Stetson  naturally  raises  the 
question  as  to  its  real  value.  He  attributes  this  parallelism  of  achieve- 
ment in  the  two  groups  to  the  fact  that  the  curriculum  in  Grand  Rap- 
ids had  remained  practically  the  same,  and  justifies  the  added  expense 
of  the  junior  high  school  on  the  basis  of  the  intangible  results  which  it 
makes  possible. 

A  Statistical  Study  of  the  Junior  High  School  from  the  Point 

of  View  of  Enrollment.    School  Review,  26:  233-45,  April,  1918. 

A  study  made  in  Grand  Rapids  to  show  that  the  junior  high  school  is  a 
positive  factor  in  the  matter  of  retaining  pupils  in  school. 

The  Junior  High  School.     Vocational  Education,  3 :  30-39, 

September,  1913. 
A  discussion  of  the  junior  high  school  with  special  reference  to  the 


346  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

school  in  Grand  Rapids,  Michigan.  Shows  the  range  of  possibilities  of 
the  junior  high  school;  cites  the  work  that  is  being  done  in  Grand  Rapids 
and  tells  what  he  considers  an  ideal  system  to  be. 

STUDY,  H.  P.     Preliminary  Steps  in  Organizing  a  Junior  High 
School.    Educational  Administration  and  Supervision,  3 :  339-42, 
June,  1917. 
Obligations  of  the  superintendent,  school  board,  and  teachers. 

TRENTON.  New  Junior  High  School  at  Trenton.  Education  Bul- 
letin, 3:  9-12,  December,  1916. 

Size  of  lot,  buildings,  capacity  of  plant,  length  of  day,  faculty,  general 
scheme  of  academic  work,  subjects,  academic  aims,  the  spirit  of  the  school 
at  Trenton,  New  Jersey. 

VERMONT.  STATE  BOARD  OF  EDUCATION.  Vermont  Junior  High 
School;  Suggestions  for  Teachers.  Clyde  M.  Hill,  Supervisor  of 
Junior  High  Schools.  Montpelier,  Capital  City  Press,  1918, 
176  pp.  illus.  8.  (Bulletin  no.  1,  1918.) 

Aims  of  junior  high  school  in  Vermont;  curricula  outlined  for  four  dif- 
ferent sizes  of  communities;  system  of  grading  and  reports  used;  each 
group  of  subjects  treated  separately  as  to  methods,  content,  materials, 
etc.;  good  suggestions  for  junior-high-school  assemblies  and  social  life. 

WEET,  HERBERT  S.  First  Step  in  Establishing  the  Six-Three-Three 
Organization.  In  Proceedings,  National  Education  Association, 
1916,  pp.  1036-42.  Also  in  American  Education,  19:  524-33, 
May,  1916,  and  hi  Educational  Administration  and  Supervision, 
2:  433-47,  September,  1916. 

Description  of  Rochester's  first  attempt  at  a  six-three-three  organiza- 
tion, with  reasons  and  justification  for  the  move;  results  of  one  year's 
trial;  exposition  of  work  given;  how  teacher  problem  was  solved;  ad- 
ministrative organization  of  school. 

A  Junior  High  School.    School  Review,  24:  142-51,  February, 

1915. 

Junior  high  school  at  Rochester,  New  York.  Deals  chiefly  with  prob- 
lems met  in  introducing  the  junior  high  school  at  Rochester. 

WESTCOTT,  R.  W.  A  Junior-High-School  Catechism.  Journal  of 
Education,  90:  535-37. 

Questionnaire  returns  from  103  cities  claiming  junior  high  schools; 
52  items  considered. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY  347 

WETZEL,  WILLIAM  A.  The  Junior  High  School  and  Prevocational 
Education.  Bulletin  no.  24,  Proceedings  of  the  Tenth  Annual 
Meeting,  February,  1917,  of  the  National  Society  for  the  Pro- 
motion of  Industrial  Education. 

Causes  for  reorganization  at  Trenton  and  exposition  of  industrial 
work  there. 


The  Junior  High  School  (Trenton,  New  Jersey).    1914.     30 

pp.     (New  Jersey  Council  of  Education,  Document  no.  39.) 

WHIPPLE,  G.  M.  Physiology  and  Hygiene  of  Adolescence.  In 
Principles  of  Secondary  Education,  edited  by  Paul  Monroe.  New 
York,  The  Macmillan  Company,  1914,  pp.  246-312. 

Summary  of  the  characteristics  of  adolescence,  many  of  which  are 
important  for  administrators  and  teachers  reorganizing  the  work  of  the 
intermediate  grades. 

WHITNEY,  F.  L.    The  Junior  High  School,  Grafton,  North  Dakota. 
American  School  Board  Journal,  47:30-31,  October,  1913. 
An  expository  article. 

The  Junior-High-School  Idea  in  the  Small  Town.  Ameri- 
can School  Board  Journal,  48: 11-12,  March,  1914. 

Shows  how  intermediate  grades  may  be  organized  departmentally 
so  as  to  lead  to  a  junior  high  school;  charts  of  retardation;  curricula. 

WILSON,  G.  M.  Elimination  of  Obsolete  and  Useless  Topics  and 
Material  from  the  Common  Branches.  Report  of  a  Committee 
of  the  Iowa  State  Teachers  Association,  November,  1915. 

Specific  recommendations  of  what  shall  be  eliminated  and  what  in- 
cluded in  arithmetic,  language  and  grammar,  writing,  geography,  physi- 
ology and  hygiene,  American  history,  and  spelling. 

WINSHIP,  A.  E.  The  Junior  High  School.  Journal  of  Education, 
83:  91-92,  January  27,  1916. 

The  junior  high  school  as  a  transitional  institution  from  elementary  to 
secondary  education. 

WISCONSIN.  DEPARTMENT  OF  PUBLIC  INSTRUCTION.  The  Junior 
High  School  and  its  Future  in  Wisconsin.  In  its  "  The  State 
and  the  Public  Schools.  Two  Years'  Progress  in  Education  in 
Wisconsin."  Biennial  Report,  1916-18.  Madison,  Wisconsin, 
1919,  pp.  23-29. 


348  BIBLIOGRAPHY 

WISCONSIN  CITY  SUPERINTENDENTS'  ASSOCIATION.  Report  of 
Committee  on  the  Reorganization  of  the  Public-School  System 
on  a  Six-Six  Plan.  Issued  by  C.  P.  Gary,  State  Superintend- 
ent. Madison,  Wisconsin,  Democrat  Printing  Company,  State 
Printer,  1914.  11  pp.  8.  Bibliography,  pp.  10-11. 

Contains  recommendations  with  supporting  arguments  that  a  six- 
year  secondary-school  system  be  developed  and  that  a  division  of  the  six- 
year  system  into  the  junior  high  school  of  three  years  and  the  senior 
high  school  of  three  years  be  made. 


INDEX 


Academic  success,  311-19. 
Acceleration,  284. 
Adjustment  of  pupils,  112. 
Administration,  238-44. 
Administrative  advantages,  66-68. 
Admission    to    senior    high    school, 

114  ff. 

Adolescence,  4-5,  245  ff. 
Advanced  credit,  117,  310. 
Advisers,  253-55. 
Affiliations  of  junior  high   schools, 

96,  97  ff.,  271-73. 
Articulation  of  elementary  and  high 

schools,  12. 
Assembly  halls,  274. 
Attendance,  303-11. 

Batavia  teacher,  142. 
Boys,  per  cent  of,  64. 
Buildings,  79,  269-78,  296-97. 

Classes,  size  of,  242^4. 
Classification  of  pupils,  147-50, 174  ff . 
Comparative  education,  5. 
Conception,  25-46. 
Continuity  in  curricula,  160-62. 
Cost,  9,  84-85,  273-74,  281-302. 
Courses  of  study,  167  ff.,  191  ff. 
Credit  for  outside  work,  118-19, 144- 

45. 

Criticism  of  public  schools,  1-20. 
Curricula,  137-39,  155-99. 

Dates  of  establishment,  32-33. 
Day,  length  of,  145,  238-42. 
Definitions,  46-56. 
Democracy,  22,  25,  85-90,  92. 
Departmental  teaching,  80-82,  110, 

127-33. 
Differentiated     curricula,      137-39, 

175  ff. 

Discipline,  112,  246-48. 
Distance  for  pupila  to  travel,  270-71. 


Distribution  of  grades,  93-96;  of 
pupils,  304. 

Economy  of  time,  36-41,  71-72. 
Effect  on  elementary  schools,  97-100. 
Elections  of  curricula,  195  ff. 
Elective  subjects,  189  ff. 
Elementary   school,   length,   22-24; 

purposes,  20-22. 
Elimination,  284,  303-11. 
Enrollment,  63-64,  303-11. 
Ettinger  plan,  263-64. 
Examinations  for  promotion,  115. 
Exploration,  41-46,  160-61,  165  ff., 

263-64. 
Extent   of   the   junior   high   school 

movement,  56-64. 

Facilitation  of  reform,  69. 

Floor  space,  distribution  of,  277-78. 

Foreign  languages,  314-19. 

Gap  between  elementary  and  high 
school,  18-19,  71-72,  82,  113. 

Graduation,  115-16,  175. 

Grounds,  269-78. 

Guidance,  19-20,  253-69;  educa- 
tional, 256-59;  vocational,  259-69. 

Gymnasium,  275. 

Historical  development,  1-2,  5-6,  29. 
Home  study,  206-07. 
Homogeneous    grouping    of    pupils, 

147-50,  257-58. 
Housing,  271-73. 

Immediate  needs,  163-65. 
Individual  differences,  16-17,  42,  70, 

90-92,  101  ff.,  133-52. 
Industrial  work,  37-39,  45,  171-74, 

190-91. 

Integration,  21-23,  85  ff.,  162-63. 
Interest,  319-21. 


350 


INDEX 


Intermediate  school.  Cf.  Junior  high 

school;  name,  47. 
Irregular    pupils,    classification    of, 

116-17. 

Laboratories,  276. 
Laws,  74-77,  325-26. 
Leaders'  club,  250. 
Length  of  school  day,  145. 
Library  work,  41. 
Life-career  classes,  263  ff. 
Lunch-rooms,  275-76. 

Methods  of  teaching,  15-16,  69,  109, 

121  ff.,  149,  200-09. 
Minimum  essentials,  146-47. 

Number  of  subjects,  143-44. 

Obstacles,  325-26. 

Opposition,  79-80. 

Organization,  7-9,  29-30,  66-68,  93- 
126. 

Over-aged  pupils.  Cf.  Retarded  pu- 
pils. 

Period,  length  of,  238-42. 
Persistence  of  pupils,  71-72,  303-11; 

of  studies,  314-19. 
Placement,  269. 
Prevocational  work,  263-64. 
Project  teaching,  109-10,  207-08. 
Promotion,  100,  114  ff.,  139-41,  152- 

64;pervim,  42,  91,  101  ff.,  140-11. 
Purposes  of  education,  24-25,  157- 

62;  elementary,  20-22;  junior  high 

school,  24-26,  162  ff. 

Recitations,  number  each  week,  238- 
42. 

Relations  to  elementary  schools,  97- 
113;  to  senior  high  schools,  113-26; 
250-51. 

Reorganization,  causes  of,  33-35;  fa- 
cilitation, 68. 

Results,  6-7,  303-21. 

Retarded  pupils,  42,  90-92,  101  ff., 
138,  176-77.- 


Retention,  71-72,  303-11. 
Revealing  courses,  169—74. 
Reviews,  10—11. 
Rural  schools,  323-26. 

Salaries,  233-37. 

Segregation,  5,  82-84. 

Self-government,  248-53. 

Senior  high  school,  admission  to,  115; 

effect  on,  120. 
Sex  differences,  5,  16-17. 
Sex  segregation,  5,  111,  150-52. 
Shops,  276-77. 
Size,  of  classes,  242-44;  of  schools, 

62-64. 

Smith-Hughes  Act,  326. 
Social  control,  110-11,  245-69. 
Socialized  recitation,  207-08. 
Study,    home,    206-07;   supervised, 

203-06. 

Subject-matter,  27,  119-20. 
Supervised  study,  203-06. 
Supervision,  121-22. 
Surveys,  322. 
Symbolic  work,  11-12. 

Teachers,  69,  78-79,  210  ff.;  elemen- 
tary, 211-13;  experience,  231  ff.; 
preparation,  123-26,  226  ff . ;  sala- 
ries, 233-37;  sex,  14-15,  222-25; 
sources,  220-22;  special  training, 
228-31;  standards,  214-20;  state 
requirements,  213-14. 

Textbooks,  77-78,  208-09. 

Trade  training,  37-39,  45. 

Transfer,  10. 

Transition,  71-72. 

Try-out  courses.  Cf.  Exploration. 

Tutoring,  141-43. 

Ungraded  rooms,  150. 

Variety  in  curricula,  159-60. 

Vocational  guidance,  259-69;  bibli- 
ography, 266;  vocational  training, 
37-39,  45. 

Week,  length  of,  238-42. 


RIVERSIDE 
TEXTBOOKS    IN    EDUCATION 

General  Educational  Theory 

EXPERIMENTAL  EDUCATION. 
By  F.  N.  FREEMAN,  University  of  Chicago. 

HOW  CHILDREN  LEARN. 
By  F.  N.  FREEMAN. 

THE  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  THE  COMMON  BRANCHES. 
By  F.  N.  FREEMAN. 

DISCIPLINE  AS  A  SCHOOL  PROBLEM. 
By  A.  C.  PERRY,  JR. 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  EDUCATIONAL  SOCIOLOGY. 
By  W.  R.  SMITH,  Kansas  State  Normal  School. 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  CHILD  PSYCHOLOGY. 

By  C.  W.  WADDLE,  Ph.D.,  Los  Angeles  State  Normal  School. 

History  of  Education 

THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION. 

By  E.  P.  CUBBBRLBY. 

READINGS  IN  THE  HISTORY  OF  EDUCATION. 

By  E.  P.  CUBBERLEY. 

PUBLIC  EDUCATION  IN  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

By  E.  P.  CUBBBELKY. 

THE  EVOLUTION  OF  THE  EDUCATIONAL  IDEAL. 
By  MABEL  I.  EMERSON. 

Administration  and  Supervision  of  Schools 

HEALTHFUL   SCHOOLS:    HOW  TO   BUILD,   EQUIP,  AND   MAIN- 
TAIN THEM. 

By  MAY  AYRES,  J.  F.  WILLIAMS,  M.D.,  University  of  Cincinnati,  and  T.  D. 
WOOD,  A.M.,  M.D.,  Teachers  College,  Columbia  University. 

PUBLIC  SCHOOL  ADMINISTRATION. 
By  E.  P.  CUBBERLEY. 

RURAL  LIFE  AND  EDUCATION. 
By  E.  P.  CUBBBRLBY. 

HEALTH  WORK  IN  THE  SCHOOLS. 
By  E.  B.  HOAG,  M.D.,  and  L.  M.  TBRMAN,  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University. 

MEASURING  THE  RESULTS  OF  TEACHING. 
By  W.  S.  MONROE,  University  of  Illinois. 

19263 


EDUCATIONAL  TESTS  AND  MEASUREMENTS. 

By  W.  S.  MONROE,  J.  C.  DsVoss,  Kansas  State  Normal  School;  and  F.  J. 
KBLLY,  University  of  Kansas. 

THE  SUPERVISION  OF  INSTRUCTION. 
By  H.  W.  NUTT,  University  of  Kansas. 

STATISTICAL  METHODS  APPLIED  TO  EDUCATION. 
By  H.  O.  RtlGG,  University  of  Chicago. 

CLASSROOM  ORGANIZATION  AND  CONTROL. 
By  J.  B.  SEARS,  Leland  Stanford  Junior  University. 

A  HANDBOOK  FOR  RURAL  SCHOOL  OFFICERS. 

By  N.  D.  SHOWALTER,  Washington  State  Normal  School. 

THE  HYGIENE  OF  THE  SCHOOL  CHILD. 
By  L.  M.  TERMAN. 

THE  MEASUREMENT  OF  INTELLIGENCE. 
By  L.  M.  TERMAN. 

Test  Material  for  the  Measurement  of  Intelligence.    Record  Booklets  for  the 
Measurement  of  Intelligence. 

THE  INTELLIGENCE  OF  SCHOOL  CHILDREN. 
By  L.  M.  TERMAN. 

Methods  of  Teaching 

TEACHING  LITERATURE  IN  THE  GRAMMAR  GRADES  AND  HIGH 
SCHOOL. 
By  EMMA  M.  BOLENIUS. 

HOW  TO  TEACH  THE  FUNDAMENTAL  SUBJECTS. 
By  C.  N.  KENDALL  and  G.  A.  MIRICK. 

HOW  TO  TEACH  THE  SPECIAL  SUBJECTS. 
By  C.  N.  KENDALL  and  G.  A.  MIRICK. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  SCIENCE  IN  THE  ELEMENTARY  SCHOOL. 
By  G.  H.  TRAFTON,  State  Normal  School,  Mankato,  Minnesota. 

TEACHING  IN  RURAL  SCHOOLS. 
By  T.  J.  WOOFTER,  University  of  Georgia. 

Secondary  Education 

THE  JUNIOR  HIGH  SCHOOL. 
By  THOS.  H.  BRIGGS,  Columbia  University. 

THE  TEACHING  OF  ENGLISH  IN  THE  SECONDARY  SCHOOL. 
By  CHARLES  SWAIN  THOMAS. 

PRINCIPLES  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION. 
By  ALEXANDER  INGLIS,  Harvard  University. 

PROBLEMS  OF  SECONDARY  EDUCATION. 
By  DAVID  SNEDDEN,  Columbia  University. 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 

1926  b 


NEW  ISSUBS  IN  THE 

Riverside  Literature  Series 

For  the  Grades 

ALDRICH'S  Marjorie  Daw  and  Other  Stories.    No.  265. 
ANTIN'S  At  School  in  the  Promised  Land.    No.  245. 
BURROUGHS'S  The  Wit  of  a  Duck,  and  Other  Papers.    No.  259. 

IRVING'S  Tales  from  the  Alhambra.  Adapted  by  Josephine  Brower. 
No.  260. 

Kipling  Stories  and  Poems  Every  Child  should  Know.    Part  I, 

No.  257.     Part  II,  No.  258. 

MUIR'S  The  Boyhood  of  a  Naturalist.   No.  247. 
SHARP'S  Ways  of  the  Woods.    No.  266. 
WIGGIN'S  Rebecca  of  Sunnybrook  Farm.    No.  264. 

Selections  for  Reading  and  Memorizing.  Grades  I- VIII.  Seven 
volumes,  Nos.  FF-MM  inclusive. 

For  High  Schools 

BOSWELL'S  The  Life  of  Johnson.    Abridged.    No.  248. 
CLARKE'S  A  Treasury  of  War  Poetry.    No.  262. 

Liberty,  Peace,  and  Justice.    (Documents  and  Addresses  1776- 
1918.)    No.  261. 

KELLER'S  The  Story  of  My  Life.    No.  253. 
PALMER'S  Self-Cultivation  in  English.    No.  249. 
PEABODY'S  The  Piper.    No.  263. 
RICHARDS'S  High  Tide.    An  Anthology.    No.  256. 

For  Colleges 

HOWELLS'S  A  Modern  Instance.    No.  252. 

LOCKWOOD'S  English  Sonnets.    No.  244. 

RITTENHOUSE'S  The  Little  Book  of  American  Poets.   No.  255. 

RITTENHOUSE'S  The  Little  Book  of  Modern  Verse.    No.  254. 

SHEPARD'S  Shakespeare  Questions.    No.  246. 

SHERIDAN'S  The  School  for  Scandal.    No.  250. 

Sir  Gawain  and  the  Green  Knight,  and  Piers  the  Ploughman, 
No.  251. 


Houghton  Miff  tin  Company 


1940 


VOCATIONAL  PREPARATION 

THE  VOCATIONAL  GUIDANCE  OF  YOUTH 

By  Meyer  Bloomfield 
A  monograph  by  the  former  Director  of  the  Vocation  Bureau  of  Boston. 

YOUTH,  SCHOOL,  AND  VOCATION   By  Meyer  Bloomfiek- 

A  first-hand  presentation  of  the  meaning  and  work  of  the  vocational  guidanc 
movement. 

CHOOSING  A  VOCATION  By  Frank  Parsons 

This  book  is  an  indispensable  manual  for  every  vocational  counselor. 

THE  PROBLEM  OF  VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

By  David  Snedden 

The  author  is  the  Professor  of  Education,  Teachers  College,  and  one  of  the 
leaders  in  the  movement  for  the  closer  adaptation  of  public  schools  to  the  actual 
needs  of  youth. 

PREVOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

By  Frank  M.  Leavitt  and  Edith  Brown 

The  first  authoritative  book  to  tell  how  the  public  schools  may  prepare  pupils  to 
select  wisely  the  work  to  which  they  are  best  adapted. 

THE   PEOPLE'S   SCHOOL  By  Ruth  Mary  Week* 

A  statement  regarding  the  vocational  training  movement  in  this  country  and 
abroad. 

VOCATIONS  FOR  GIRLS 

By  Mary  A.  Laselte  and  Katherine  Wiley 

Information  as  to  conditions  of  work  and  the  opportunities  in  the  more  common 
vocations  open  to  girls  with  only  a  high-school  education. 

THE   HOME   SCHOOL  By  Ada  Wilson  Trowbridgt 

An  account  of  a  unique  and  successful  experiment  in  teaching  practical  house- 
hold economics. 

VOCATIONAL  EDUCATION 

By  David  Snedden,  Ruth  Mary  Weeks,  and  Ellwood  P.  Cubberley 
A  combination  of  three  volumes  from  the  Rii'trside  Educational  Monographs 
treating  different  phases  of  vocational   education,— theory,  administration,  and 
practice. 

PRINCIPLES    AND    METHODS   OF    INDUSTRIAL 

EDUCATION  By  William  H.  Dooley 

This  is  a  book  for  use  in  teacher  training  classes.  There  is  an  Introduction  by 
Charles  A.  Prosser,  and  an  equipment  of  thought  stimulating  questions,  together 
with  reading  references  and  courses  of  study. 

INDUSTRIAL  EDUCATION  :  Its  Problems,  Methods, 

and   Dangers  By  Albert  H.  Leake 

A  study  and  criticism  of  the  opportunities  provided  for  the  education  of  the 
industrial  worker. 

ESTABLISHING  INDUSTRIAL  SCHOOLS 

By  Harry  Bradley  Smith 
A  practical  discussion  of  the  steps  to  be  taken  in  establishing  industrial  schools. 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 


HOW  TO  STUDY 
AND 

TEACHING  HOW  TO  STUDY 

By 

F.  M.  McMURRY 

Professor  of  Elementary  Education,  Teachers  College 
Columbia  University 

Every  teacher,  student,  and  parent  should  read  this 
book,  —  perhaps  the  most  fundamentally  important 
educational  book  that  has  recently  appeared. 

Some  of  the  questions  which  are  fully  and  help' 
fully  answered  in  the  book: 

Why  young  people  have  not  been  learning  to  study 
effectively. 

The  changes  necessary  to  be  made  in  the  schools  in 
order  that  they  may  learn  to  study  properly. 

How  the  large  amount  of  waste  in  home  study  can 
be  prevented. 

How  adults  should  study. 

To  what  extent  children  have  the  native  capacity  and 
experience  necessary  for  fruitful  study. 

What  can  be  done  towards  teaching  even  the  young- 
est children  to  form  the  right  habits  of  study. 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

BOSTON  .NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 


PRACTICAL  NEW  TEXTBOOKS 

PRACTICAL  BUSINESS  ENGLISH. 

By  OSCAR  C.  GALLAGHER,  formerly  Head  Master,  West  Roxbury  High 
School,  Boston,  and  LEONARD  B.  MOOLTON,  Department  of  English, 
High  School  of  Commerce,  Boston. 

Practical  Business  English  tells  how  and  what  to  write  to  conduct 
and  promote  business.  Written  primarily  for  pupils  in  the  third  and 
fourth  years  of  high  school,  this  very  practical  text  is  a  firm  founda- 
tion on  which  to  base  future  business  success.  Principles  are  pre- 
sented clearly  and  .definitely.  Every  exercise  is  so  planned  and 
analyzed  that  the  pupil  has  a  certain  piece  of  work  before  him,  with 
specific  directions  as  to  how  to  do  it.  Much  of  the  material  in  the 
book  is  new  and  has  not  been  treated  in  other  books  of  similar  char- 
acter. It  is  the  direct  result  of  long  classroom  experience. 

SPANISH  TAUGHT  IN  SPANISH. 

By  CHARLES  F.  McHALE,  Instructor  in  Spanish  in  the  National  City 
Bank,  New  York. 

The  strong  appeal  of  Spanish  Taught  in  Spanish  is  that  the  pupil 
learns  his  lessons  in  Spanish  right  from  the  start.  This  method 
stimulates  interest  and  thus  enables  the  pupil  to  think  in  Spanish 
and  to  absorb  the  language  with  amazing  rapidity.  When  this  text 
has  been  thoroughly  mastered,  the  pupil  will  find  himself  able  to  em- 
ploy the  Spanish  language  for  every  practical  purpose. 

THE  SCIENCE  OF  EVERYDAY  LIFE. 

By  EDGAR  F.  VAN  BUSKIRK,  formerly  in  charge  of  General  Science, 
DeWitt  Clinton  High  School,  New  York  City,  and  EDITH  L.  SMITH, 
Instructor,  Geography  Department,  Boston  Normal  School. 

This  is  the  first  science  book  to  be  built  on  the  topic-project-problena 
plan,  which  has  proved  so  successful  in  practice.  Yet  it  has  a 
definite  unifying  principle,  so  generally  lacking  in  books  in  General 
Science.  The  basis  is  Everyday  Needs.  All  the  material  is  grouped 
under  five  units,  which  are  subdivided  into  projects. 

(I)  The  Air  and  How  We  Use  It.—  (2)  Water  and  How  We  Ust 
ft.  —  (3)  Foods  and  How  We  Use  Them.  —  (4)  Protection  —  Homes 
and"  Clothing.—  (5)  The  Work  of  the  World. 

The  projects  are  arranged  to  give  scope  to  the  pupil's  initiative. 
The  approach  to  each  subject  is  made  from  the  experiment  to  the 
textbook.  The  course  bears  a  close  relation  to  the  familiar  conditions 
of  the  pupil's  life.  The  applicability  of  what  he  is  studying  is  con- 
stantly impressed  upon  his  mind. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1935 


TEXTBOOKS  IN  CITIZENSHIP 

GOVERNMENT  AND  POLITICS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES.   Problems  of  American  Democracy.   A 

Textbook  for  Secondary  Schools. 

By  WILLIAM  B.  GUITTEAU,  Ph.D.,  Superintendent  of  Schools, 
Toledo,  Ohio.     With  Illustrations  and  Diagrams. 

This  book  fully  covers  the  requirements  of  modern 
high  schools  in  regard  to  the  teaching  of  Civics.  It  gives  an 
adequate  knowledge  of  the  various  forms  of  government, 
local,  state,  and  national,  emphasizing,  however,  the  prac- 
tical activities  in  which  students  are  most  interested,  and 
the  problems  with  which  as  citizens  they  will  be  most  con- 
cerned. Questions  at  the  end  of  each  chapter  give  local 
applications  of  principles  discussed  in  the  text. 

PREPARING  FOR  CITIZENSHIP.    An  Elementary 
Textbook  in  Civics. 
By  WILLIAM  BACKUS  GUITTEAU,  Ph.D. 

This  is  an  admirable  textbook  for  the  upper  grammar 
grades,  and  for  the  first  year  of  the  high  school.  It  gives  in 
simple  language  a  very  clear  explanation  of  how  and  why 
governments  are  formed,  what  government  does  for  the 
citizen,  and  what  the  citizen  owes  to  his  government.  All 
necessary  facts  regarding  local,  state,  and  national  govern- 
ment are  given,  with  the  main  emphasis  upon  the  practical 
aspects  of  government.  The  book  concludes  with  an  inspir- 
ing expression  of  our  national  ideals  of  self-reliance,  equality 
of  opportunity,  education  for  all,  and  the  promotion  of 
international  peace.  Each  chapter  is  accompanied  by 
questions  and  exercises  which  will  stimulate  investigation 
on  the  part  of  pupils  into  the  organization  and  functions 
of  local  government. 

AMERICANIZATION  AND  CITIZENSHIP. 

By  HANSON  HABT  WEBSTER. 

Important  and  distinctive  features  of  this  book  are: — 

(1)  the  catechism  upon  the  United  States  Constitution ; 

(2)  the  statement  of  the  principles  underlying  our  govern- 
ment; (3)  the  explanation  of  the  duties  and  privileges  of 
citizens.     It  is  recommended  as  a  valuable  handbook  for 
all  Americans,  both  native  and  foreign-born. 


HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 

1903 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

Los  Angeles 
This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


SUBJECT 


URNED  TQ 


3     1961 


TO  FINE  IF  NOT  RE 

EDilCATION  LIBRARY 


RECEIVED 

JUN5 


MAR  -4 

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RECEIVEC 

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